Little Rascals Day Nursery (Station Rd)

Little Rascals Day Nursery (Station Rd) Station Road, Wellgarth, Crossgates,, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS15 7JY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 02/10/2013 14/12/2010

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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

 A variety of appropriate activities and resources are provided so that children make satisfactory progress in their learning and development.  Children's personal, emotional and social development is suitably provided for. Staff are responsive to the children, so that they are confident and self-assured.  Parents' knowledge of their children's learning and development is valued and used well so that children settle quickly into nursery.

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It is not yet good because

 Assessment is not yet accurate enough to identify the needs of older or more-able children and to plan for their next steps in learning. This means that some activities are not sufficiently stimulating, and at times the behaviour of older or more-able children is unsettled.  Staff do not always question children effectively to provide sufficient challenge and extend children's thinking. This means that children's learning is sometimes restricted.  Systems for monitoring staff performance are not yet fully effective and do not ensure consistency in the quality of teaching and behaviour management for all children.

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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 in playrooms and the outdoor area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the provider, one of the managers, staff and children at appropriate times throughout the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's records and a sample of documents, including children's assessment books, planning documentation, policies and procedures.  The inspector took account of the views of parents.

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Information about the setting

Little Rascals Day Nursery opened in March 1997. It is one of a group of two privately owned nurseries. It operates from a converted school building, located in Crossgates, near Leeds. The nursery serves families from the local area and the wider community, and is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6pm throughout the year. There is a fully enclosed area for outside play.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 53 children on roll in the early years age range, who attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children with English as an additional language. A total of 23 staff work with the children. This includes two joint managers. The provider has Early Years Professional Status. The majority of staff hold recognised childcare qualifications and the remainder are working towards a qualification. The nursery also employs two catering staff and two domestic staff.

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must:

 improve the effectiveness of assessments to accurately identify the next steps for learning and ensure sufficient challenge for older or more-able children.

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

 develop more effective systems to monitor staff performance, to ensure consistency in the quality of teaching and behaviour management for all children

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

 ensure that all staff are skilled in using open-ended questions to extend children's thinking and learning.

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who attend

Staff provide a suitable range of activities for children and demonstrate an appropriate understanding of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and the prime and specific areas of learning. Children make satisfactory progress in their learning. Staff seek information from parents prior to entry to the nursery about children's care and learning needs at home. This information is used well to ensure that each child's starting point is well understood and appropriate care routines, learning and development activities are provided. This means that children settle into the nursery easily. Staff create a warm and welcoming environment. Many parents stay to settle children in and talk with staff at the end of the session, and this daily information about their child's experiences is valued by parents. Staff have developed suitable systems for observing and assessing children's needs since the last inspection. Observations and assessments are recorded for each child

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who attend

in a book, which is brought alive through photographs and examples of children's work. These attractive, personalised books are available for parents to add to or to take home, and this provides useful information for parents about their child's learning and developmental journey. However, the assessment of children's needs is not yet accurate enough to identify the next steps in children's learning or to provide sufficiently challenging and stimulating activities for older or more-able children. This means their learning is not progressed as well as possible, and the behaviour of some older children at times becomes too boisterous and limits their progress

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who attend

Some staff demonstrate skill in questioning children to encourage their thinking and development. There are times, however, when the teaching is more passive and questioning; this means it is not effective enough to challenge, extend and stimulate older or more-able children. There is inconsistency in the teaching across the nursery and this means that some opportunities to ensure good progress for all children are missed.

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who attend

Children's personal and social development is suitably promoted. Children of all ages show confidence and growing independence. There are good relationships between children and with adults. Staff are responsive to the children. As one child shows uncertainty on her first day in a new room, staff warmly attend to her so that she recovers quickly and settle into activities. Most children concentrate and persevere in their activities for good periods of time, and as one child succeeds in writing her name, she self-assuredly announces, 'Look I have done my name'. Children use their initiative and move around the rooms confidently, selecting activities of their choice. They take pride in their achievements and one child proudly shows her work to staff, saying 'I've made a lovely picture for my mummy and daddy'.

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who attend

Staff are encouraging and supportive to children, and regularly offer praise as they play and freely explore the activities available. Children usually behave in appropriate ways, relating to each other well. For example, a group of older children play cooperatively in the home corner for a good length of time. Staff effectively develop children's communication and language skills through encouraging early vocalisation and providing good models of spoken language, which children confidently copy. Children with English as an additional language are learning to watch carefully, point at pictures appropriately, and show a good development of understanding, speaking and listening skills. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are developing good skills in communicating, and express themselves in sentences of a good length.

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who attend

Children's physical skills are developing well. Some children choose to put on their wellingtons and coats to enjoy splashing in puddles and playing in the outdoor area on wheeled toys, not put off by rain. The outdoor area is attractive and equipped with good resources that are used well to promote the development of children's skills through climbing, using wheeled toys, sand and water play, a mud pit and a tent. This ensures that all children make good progress in developing large muscle skills and imaginative play. Children demonstrate good handling skills as they use pencils to make marks on paper and large paintbrushes with water to 'paint' outside walls and smaller brushes to create pictures. There are many good opportunities for children to explore using a variety of different materials and resources, such as sequins, cotton wool and collage materials, and their artistic work is valued and displayed on walls.

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who attend

All children thoroughly enjoy story time. They sit attentively in the tent, showing good awareness of each other and concentration and listening skills as the story unfolds. Staff are skilled in reading stories aloud and encourage the active participation of children through the use of puppets. They also use suitable questioning techniques to develop children's understanding and extend their vocabulary and engagement in the story. Children take a full part in the story of animals in the mud. They place their puppets into the imaginary mud on the floor and this brings the story to life. Younger children are beginning to recognise letter shapes and sounds, and older children make satisfactory progress in their early reading through regular phonic activities. Children recognise their names on beakers and coat pegs, and progress to writing their name on practise cards. The nursery environment is rich in words, and this further develops children's early

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who attend

Children are developing in mathematical awareness. Staff provide activities through which children are learning to recognise numbers and to count to 20. They successfully recognise shapes, size and position. Older children are supported to develop their skills in simple problem solving and mathematics through personalised books to suit their individual needs, and this extends their learning well. Children develop a good understanding of the world. Recently children enjoyed learning about different foods and traditions on 'Africa Day', which was successfully led by a parent. Through growing potatoes, seasonal vegetables, plants and flowers and exploring the garden for seeds, children learn about change and growth. Children have many opportunities to celebrate cultural events, such as Easter and Mother's Day. These events are recorded in photographs and included in children's observation and assessment books, and this adds

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who attend

positively to their learning journal record.

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who attend

Staff create a strong partnership with parents. Through well-attended parents' evenings, sharing of daily information and observation and assessment books, parents report that they are well informed about their children's progress. The nursery and the staff are highly valued by parents.

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

The key person system is well established and positive relationships and attachments between children and adults are evident in daily practices. Children show confidence in approaching adults to make their needs known. Key persons work closely with parents to ensure all children's needs are met. Staff create a well ordered and tidy environment, with consistent and clear care routines, and children are enabled to learn and develop appropriately. Children show growing independence in managing their personal hygiene. They learn to use the child-friendly toilets and wash basins with confidence and independence. Children show skill in changing their shoes and putting coats and wellingtons on to go outside, and they are assisted when this is needed. Expectations of children's behaviour are not always consistent and the behaviour of some older children becomes unsettled at times, which means their learning is sometimes restricted.

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

Risks are managed appropriately in the indoor and outdoor areas, and staff ensure a safe and secure environment through regular risk assessment practices. Older children effectively learn about keeping themselves safe, for example, through watching a video and practising safe road crossing on a simulated pelican crossing in the outdoor area. The staff provide varied and appropriate activities and resources that are mostly freely accessible to children, who enjoy making choices in their play. Children move around the rooms and outdoor areas safely and confidently.

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

Children eat well and drink water regularly. They enjoy healthy snacks of fruit, and a 'healthy eating' display shows the good range and balance of foods, which are freshly prepared for children each day. Younger children are served lunch and older children demonstrate that they can serve themselves. This shows good development in independence. Children behave well while eating and sing a 'please and thank you' song to promote good table manners. The 'fruit and vegetables man' delivers fresh produce to the nursery every week, and on occasions talks to the children about healthy foods.

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

Children are suitably prepared for the transition to other early years settings and to school. Staff ensure effective transitions between rooms in the nursery and observation records are passed on to their next key person. This ensures continuity of practice. Since the last inspection links have been strengthened with other local early years settings, and staff have recently attended a training course relating to safe care of babies, in a neighbouring children's centre. Staff pass assessment records on to the school or to parents when children leave the nursery, and staff from local schools visit the nursery. These practices proactively prepare children for their move.

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provision

This inspection was brought forward due to concerns about the behaviour of staff. The inspection found that the manager has investigated the concerns and dealt appropriately with staff. To ensure there is no recurrence there is a system of regular supervision in place, and this is satisfactorily effective in ensuring suitable emphasis is given to meeting most children's learning and development needs. However, there are times when the monitoring of activities is not fully effective in ensuring that the quality of teaching and activities are sufficiently stimulating for all children, particularly older or more-able children. This means they do not learn as effectively as possible. There are useful informal ways in which the practice of staff in the rooms is monitored, for example, through discussions during the day. Staff also attend regular meetings with the manager. This means that practices are reviewed and monitored to some extent. The majority of the

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provision

staff hold childcare qualifications, and relevant training courses relating to early years practices are attended. This promotes sound practices on a daily basis. The safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage are understood and there is a clear policy and documented procedures to safeguard children. This means that there are suitable daily practices to ensure that children are safe, happy and well. Staff show a good awareness of signs and symptoms of abuse and are alert to changes in children's behaviour. They know how to report any concerns and this supports children's safety in the nursery. Recruitment and vetting procedures ensure all staff are suitable to work with children. Staff ratios and supervision of children ensure their safety is well promoted.

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provision

The management team regularly reflect on practice through meetings of senior staff and managers from both nurseries in the partnership, and there is a development plan which focusses on improvements to the indoor and outdoor areas. Since the last inspection links have been strengthened with other early years settings in the locality and there are effective links with local authority support and advisory services. This means there is a suitable capacity to improve.

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provision

The partnership with parents is strong. A comprehensive range of policies and documents are usefully displayed for parents and they are well informed, on a daily basis, about children's progress. The observation and assessment books for each child are shared with parents and they provide useful information for parents about their child's individual learning journey. Parents are welcomed into the nursery at the beginning and end of sessions and on parents' evenings. Parents speak highly of the nursery and staff, and value the time that their children spend learning, playing and developing.

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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 319382 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 934547

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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 53 Name of provider Kenneth and Angela Mountain Partnership Date of previous inspection 14/12/2010 Telephone number 0113 232 6757

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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

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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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