The Little Ripley Day Nursery

Little Ripley Day Nursery 133 Wood End Lane, Erdington, Birmingham, West Midlands, B24 8BD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/10/2013 15/02/2010

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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

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This provision is good

 Children are cared for in a very vibrant, clean and colourful environment which has a very good range of resources that are easily accessible. This means children are able to make independent choices in their play and develop their own ideas.  Staff give high priority to providing a very safe and secure environment for children to play, and to teaching them about personal safety. This means children are well protected and kept free from harm.  Effective partnerships with parents mean that there is a united approach to meeting individual children's needs, extending their learning and helping them to develop relevant skills for future learning.  Children behave very well. They play together and develop good friendships. This is because staff support children well through clear explanations and encouragement.  The transition arrangements in the nursery are highly successful in preparing children sensitively for the next steps in their lives, particularly as they develop the skills and

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This provision is good

aptitudes necessary to support their move to full-time school.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 At times, staff's questioning techniques are not consistent across the nursery, so some children do not always having time to consider their answers.  Opportunities for children to further enhance their learning in some aspects outdoors have yet to be fully embraced.

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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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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

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

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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 discussions.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of staff's suitability, and a range of policies and record-keeping procedures.  The inspector carried out a joint observation of a creative activity with the manager.

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Information about the setting

Little Ripley Day Nursery opened in 1995 and is on the Early Years Register. It is one of nine nurseries within a privately owned group in the Birmingham area. It operates from a converted two-storey detached house in Erdington. There is access to a enclosed garden area for outdoor play. The nursery serves the local and surrounding areas.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 85 children on roll who are in the early years age range. 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.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is open five days a week all year round, except for Bank Holidays. Sessions are from 7am until 6pm. The nursery employs 20 members of childcare staff. Of these, 19 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, including one who holds a degree, and the manager holds a qualification at level 5. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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

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

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

 enhance the range of resources in order to fully maximise children's learning in the outdoor area, to further develop their language, communication and early literacy skills.

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who attend

All children in this vibrant nursery are making good progress in relation to their starting points. This is because staff have a comprehensive understanding about how young children learn and a high level of awareness about how to progress learning and development. Staff plan a broad range of activities that fully support children's interests and which focus on all the areas of learning. Staff are committed and happy in their role, which has a positive impact in the children feeling a wonderful sense of belonging. Therefore, they are confident in experiencing activities. For instance, younger children have great enjoyment in the sensory experiences offered, as they explore the texture of a variety of dried cereal. They munch into them, listening to the sounds they make as they crunch them in their hands or under their feet. Children play and learn in an environment that is busy and purposeful. They clearly enjoy learning through play and are excited and

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who attend

enthused by their chosen or planned activity in this very well-resourced environment. Great excitement is had when the 'music man' arrives and toddlers sing along as they play a range of musical instruments. Babies enjoy exploring the texture of paint and create prints from their hands and other objects, such as sponges and toothbrushes, and have fun painting their faces. Staff provide good opportunities for babies to develop their physical skills. They arrange a variety of soft play apparatus, which babies climb, crawl through and move in different ways, such as rockers and activity centres. Babies discover the properties of different materials and everyday objects as they play with treasure baskets and learn about different sounds as they use a range of musical instruments.

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who attend

Systems for recording observation and assessment enable staff to capably track the progress of the children. Staff refer to all the areas of learning when tracking the children. This enables them to effectively plan for each child's next steps so that they continue to make good progress in their learning and development. The staff complete the progress check at age two, in conjunction with parents, who are encouraged to contribute towards their child's assessments through discussions with their child's key person. Information about children's daily activities and routines is shared with parents at the end of the session verbally and through daily diaries. This enables parents to be fully involved so that they can help support children's learning at home. In addition, children take home story bags containing a book with a toy related to the story, to help parents engage with children, while enabling children develop a fondness for books. Overall, staff support

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who attend

children well in their understanding of 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 nursery, 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.

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who attend

The nursery environment is busy, with photographs of the children at play and samples of their creative work attractively displayed. Young children take pleasure in seeing photographs of their family displayed, which helps them feel settled. Children have opportunities to see their home and community languages displayed on notices around the nursery, which shows staff value diversity. They obtain words in children's home language to ensure they are able to support them and attend to their needs. Children also learn French each week from a teacher. Throughout the year they learn about a range of festivals and events, such as Eid, Diwali and Halloween, and they design colourful pictures of fireworks, witches and pumpkins. Children enjoy sand and water play. They have great fun outdoors turning dry sand into wet and describing how it feels as they build sandcastles or pretend to make food for 'Goldilocks and the three bears'. Children have

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who attend

many opportunities to make marks, both indoors and outdoors. They use chalk to draw on the paving slabs or on chalk boards in the garden. However, there is scope to further enhance this area by making it rich with words, through using labels and pictures to help children's language and early literacy skills. Staff build on children's understanding of numbers and mathematical terms as they routinely and confidently use them throughout activities. Children competently use computer programs to further enhance this knowledge, for example, as they count the number of objects as they appear on the screen. They learn to take turns as they roll the dice and count the number of dots to see who completes the board game first. Staff plan activities to develop children's emerging interests, for example, their interests in sounds. Outdoors they listen to sounds around them, such as, an aeroplane in the sky, cars passing by and apparently, 'a woodpecker', a

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who attend

child tells staff. Children enjoy the challenge of group games as they listen to a range of sounds and quickly find a matching picture, seeing who can match all the pictures first. As a result, the activities promote children's individual learning needs successfully, to help them become ready for the next stage in their learning.

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who attend

Children are very well prepared for their move to school. The nursery has made contact with all the local schools in the area and shares transition reports with the schools children attend. A folder containing the prospectus of all the local and surrounding schools has been collated to share with children and parents when the time comes for children to leave. Partnerships with parents and other professionals are effective. Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are progressing well, due to staff's commitment and dedication in providing suitable care and adapting activities to enable all to participate. They work closely with outside agencies to seek further support and advice when necessary, including completing individual educational plans. They actively seek funding to support children, with their own support worker and specialist equipment if necessary. Staff ensure information is available for parents to refer to, including daily

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who attend

diaries, learning journals and 'wow' moment cards as they share in children's learning. Information and references to the Early Years Foundation Stage and workshops help parents to understand the links between activities and the areas of learning, enabling them to support their children at home.

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

Children form secure attachments with their key person, building a solid foundation for fostering their personal, social and emotional development. The key person system also supports children and their parents well as children grow older and move groups within the nursery. This is because they receive continuity in their care. For example, babies and toddlers enjoy frequent visits to their next group prior to moving, and effective systems are in place for older children to ensure they are confident and well prepared when moving on to school. Children relate very well to staff and each other, enjoy playing together and are also confident to play alone. For example, while some children are asleep, accompanied by soothing music, others enjoy helping themselves to different games or going in the garden to play.

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

From a young age children display a strong sense of belonging and are confident and self- assured in the nursery environment. Settling-in arrangements are effective in helping children to quickly settle and feel secure in their surroundings. Children's independence is encouraged, with rooms organised to achieve maximum child independence. Older children are confident making choices, such as deciding if they want to have a sleep, play outside or stay inside. Younger children's self-help skills are fully promoted, with staff encouraging them to try things for themselves and supporting them while they try to succeed. Children experience plenty of activities where they gain a good awareness of potential dangers and also learn how to keep themselves safe. They know how to respond swiftly during a fire drill as these are regularly practised and discussed, and older children understand that they must sit down when using scissors.

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

Children's awareness of developing a healthy lifestyle is promoted well. They experience plenty of fresh air, and regular exercise helps keep children fit. Outside, visitors engage children in weekly cooking activities, where they learn about healthy food. They bring their own ingredients and equipment and children look forward to cooking new foods and learning about food technology. Staff teach children the positive benefits of engaging in regular exercise, such as when they discuss how exercise and eating a nutritious diet give them strong muscles. Children are provided with healthy food choices at meal and snack times and they participate in a variety of activities where they learn about what constitutes a healthy diet. Children learn about the significance of healthy eating, such as discussing which types of food are good for their teeth. Staff who attend oral hygiene training plan activities for children to learn about the importance of brushing their teeth, and they do

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

this after dinner. Staff provide children of all ages with very good opportunities to play outdoors each day and to use a wide range of equipment. This means children benefit from lots of fresh air and physical exercise, which has a significant impact on keeping them healthy and enabling them to gain good control of their bodies as they ride bikes and cars. The outdoor areas quickly become a hive of activity. For example, children develop good control of their small muscles as they learn to grip chalks and make marks on a board. Staff fully understand that some children may not always want to join in with the more boisterous activities outdoors, and sensitively provide quieter activities they can enjoy in the area. For instance, a group of children delight playing in sand and water, with junk boxes or reading books. This shows staff are very sensitive to children's individual needs.

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

Children talk to the inspector about the effect of germs making them unwell, and show that they know their hands need to be clean before they eat anything. Children enjoy a variety of nutritious and healthy snacks and they access their water bottles and beakers throughout the day. All individual dietary needs are known by all staff, and robust procedures are in place to ensure that children are provided with snacks and ingredients that meet their individual requirements and keep them safe from any allergic reactions. Staff have created coloured place mats on which they record details of individual children's dietary requirements, along with photograph of the child when there are food allergies or foods they are not permitted to eat. Children are very sociable and their behaviour is exemplary as staff focus on positive behaviour to develop and promote children's self- esteem. This results in an environment where children quickly learn what is expected and

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

cooperate with each other. They show concern for each other and when a child arrives unsettled, a two-year-old holds her hand up to him and tells staff, 'He's crying for me', and she gives him a kiss and hug. Children enjoy being helpful and are keen to take an active role in the nursery. For example, older children are chosen as special helpers for the day and they eagerly help to put resources away when they hear the tidy-up music.

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provision

The nursery is led and managed very effectively, which means the requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage are met to a good standard. For instance, the manager acts competently as a leader, motivator and mentor for staff. In turn, staff work very well together and ensure children are well supervised and cared for in a safe and well-organised environment, because they are conscious about their roles in the lives of young children. Children are safe and well cared for in the nursery because staff are vigilant and take the responsibility of children's safety very seriously. Risk assessments are in place to ensure children play and learn in safety, and regular checks are made to ensure the environment is secure and suitable for young children. Management have implemented a system for checking the toys that could cause choking.

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provision

Staff are clear in their understanding of child protection issues and are confident in following the procedures for reporting concerns without delay. All staff are appropriately trained and there are two designated safeguarding persons who take the lead in child protection, with another senior staff member due to attend training. Effective recruitment and vetting systems help ensure all staff working with children are qualified, experienced and suitable to do so. Induction arrangements ensure new staff clearly understand their roles and responsibilities. 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. The close monitoring of staff practice ensures consistency in children's care and learning, and is a beneficial way of identifying

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provision

any training needs or areas for staff development.

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provision

Good attention is given to working in partnership with parents and to keeping them fully informed about the nursery and their children's progress and daily activities. For example, they have access to their children's individual learning journals, and diaries are provided for younger children. Newsletters, notice boards and reminders about any important procedures parents should follow, such as ensuring the front door is locked and not allowing anyone to enter the building they do not know, are sent out regularly. Parents express very positive comments about the nursery. For example, they feel that staff are friendly, approachable, treat their children as individuals and made their transition into the nursery welcoming and stress free. They also particularly like the friendly staff, cleanliness of the building and the wide range of good quality resources. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities very effectively. For instance, they work

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provision

closely with any outside agencies involved in children's care and learning, to provide a consistent approach and ensure they reach their full potential, such as speech and language therapists. The nursery has a good working relationship with the local children's centre where they attend training. Teachers from the local schools children will move on to are invited into the nursery to meet and observe children before they move into their care, to ensure they have a smooth transition. In addition, staff share transition reports with them.

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provision

Effective self-evaluation procedures are in place, which include the views of staff, parents, children and other interested partners, such as advisory early years development workers. The manager leads the staff team well, involving them in staff meetings and appraisals, and allocating areas of special responsibility, such as safeguarding, behaviour and special educational needs. The member of staff who holds Early Years Professional Status is currently supporting staff with planning for children's next steps to ensure these are individualised and accurate. As a result, they all work as an effective team to drive improvement. Staff have addressed all recommendations from the previous inspection. There are clear plans for further improvements, such as developing a story area in the garden and creating dens in the trees for children to explore and take risks. These actions demonstrate the management and staff's determination to keep driving improvement.

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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 229084 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 920025

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 60 Number of children on roll 85 Name of provider Little Ripley Day Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 15/02/2010 Telephone number 0121 382 2723

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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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