Tops Day Nurseries - Musgrove

Tops Day Nurseries Taunton and Somerset Hospital, Musgrove Park, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 5BZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/10/2013 11/02/2010

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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

 Children happily engage in a broad range of activities and experiences, which help them to make good progress in all areas.  Children are happy and settled, they share close relationships with staff, which effectively supports their emotional and physical well-being.  Effective systems help children settle, move onto the next room within the nursery and onto school.

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It is not yet good because

 The nursery does not always share information with other early year's settings children attend to ensure consistency in care.  The organisation of some small group activities does not fully support all children's best concentration skills.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities inside and outdoors.  The inspector had discussions with the manager, staff, parents and children.  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 and staff suitability checks.

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Information about the setting

Tops Day Nursery has been registered since 2003. It operates from a purpose built two storey premises on the Taunton and Somerset Hospital site, Musgrove Park, Taunton. The first floor is accessed by a flight of stairs or a lift. The nursery is one of a chain of privately owned nurseries. Children are accommodated in five rooms, with the pre-school and Mini Beasts play club operating from the first floor. The nursery is open each weekday from 6.45 am until 6.30 pm, all year round.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 243 children on roll, of whom 89 are in the early years age range. The Mini Beasts play club takes children up to the age of 11 years. The nursery gets funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four years old. The nursery support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 35 members of staff, of whom 33 work directly with the children. One member of staff holds Early Years Professional Status. The majority of staff hold a level 3 qualification or above and there are several apprentices who are working towards an appropriate early years qualification. The nursery is a member of the National Day Nurseries Association Quality Assurance Scheme and Investors in People.

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must:

 implement systems to ensure a two-way flow of information with other providers when children's care is shared, to promote all children's well-being further.

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

 improve further the organisation of small group times, particularly in the two to three-year-old room, to reduce noise levels so that children can be better engaged and concentrate at these times.

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who attend

Staff plan and provide a good range of activities and experiences, which interest and excite the children, supporting them to make good progress in all areas of learning. Staff talk to parents about their child's development when they first start at the nursery; they use this information and their ongoing observations and assessment to effectively plan for children's next steps. Staff support babies well to explore and investigate their environment. For example, babies move items in and out of boxes and baskets. They enjoy sharing stories with staff, patting the pages of the book as they listen to the story. Toddlers use their senses to explore the trays filled with water and glitter; they mix the 'dry food mixture' with water and talk about the texture and smell.

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who attend

Children are actively encouraged to be independent and given lots of choice in their play. For example, children choose who they are going to be in the hospital role-play area. Children make appointments at the reception desk, they describe their symptoms to the 'doctor' and they listen to each other's heartbeat through a stethoscope. This means children use their imaginations well. Staff use a tracking system that helps them to establish children's progress from their starting points and to identify any areas of learning or development where they may have concerns. They base planning securely on the individual child's interests and this is very flexible to ensure the planned activities meet their needs effectively. Staff effectively support children in acquiring the skills, attitudes and dispositions they need to move on to the next stage of their learning and eventually to school.

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who attend

Staff promote children's mathematical development extremely well. Children confidently compare number and size. They easily recognise which group of 'play dough balls' has more or less. They are beginning to use the vocabulary involved in adding and subtracting as they combine the two groups together. These activities support children's mathematical understanding effectively. Staff effectively support children that are learning to speak English as an additional language. This is done through the use of gestures and eye contact. They gain knowledge of the child's home language, in order to be fully inclusive for all children. This helps them to settle and supports them to develop their understanding of the English language well.

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who attend

Staff emphasise encouraging children's personal, social and emotional development. Children have opportunities to take part in small group activities, which helps them to recognise and understand waiting their turn and sharing. However, the organisation of some of these activities does not always fully promote children's listening and concentration skills. For example, children singing songs easily distract children listening to a story because they are in close proximity to one another.

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

Children are confident and settled at the nursery. Staff are caring and sensitive in their approach and build strong relationships with their key children. Consequently, these secure attachments effectively support children's emotional and physical well-being. Staff teach children how to keep themselves safe. They are shown how to use tools properly, such as scissors as they use them to cut out pictures from magazines. They practise the emergency evacuation procedure, and staff give the children gentle reminders about the importance of walking inside. These experiences help the children to learn to keep themselves safe. The accident procedures have been recently updated so that all staff are now able to follow these correctly.

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

Children's behaviour is managed well. Staff use appropriate behaviour management strategies, applying these consistently to ensure that children know how to behave and enabling them to manage their own behaviour effectively. Overall, children's behaviour is very good. Staff work closely with parents to develop effective strategies to manage children's behaviour consistently. Staff act as appropriate role models, so that children learn good manners and know what is expected of them.

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

Staff teach the children about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Children follow good hygiene procedures, wash their hands without prompting and discuss the importance of doing this. Children are provided with healthy, nutritious meals and snacks freshly prepared by the nursery cook. Children are encouraged to try a little of new or different foods to broaden their eating experience and they confidently serve their food and pour their drinks for themselves. Children's physical development is promoted well. They enjoy the different experiences in the outdoor environment as they climb and balance with increasing control on the outside equipment. Young babies and toddlers gain the necessary physical skills for early walking and balance. Resources and equipment are accessible to babies at low-level, which encourages them to pull themselves into a standing position and they independently crawl into the sleeping baskets when they feel

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

tired or want a rest. This helps them to develop their physical skills, make independent choices and progress to the next stage in their development.

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provision

This inspection took place because concerns were raised with Ofsted relating to the management of accidents. The inspection also found that the provider had not followed the correct procedure following accidents at the nursery. Evidence gathered at the inspection found that the management and staff took prompt and effective action and carried out an investigation, to see why this had occurred. Consequently, more robust procedures are in place for the recording of any accident or injury. This improvement includes systems to ensure that parents are informed about any accidents or injury sustained by a child on the same day, or as soon as reasonably practicable. This helps to promote children's welfare more effectively. Staff clearly understand their responsibilities regarding undertaking risk assessments and safety checks to ensure children can play safely.

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provision

Children are well supervised at all times, and that ratios of adults to children are well maintained on a daily basis to safeguard children's welfare. There is an appropriate safeguarding policy in place and staff are very knowledgeable about child protection procedures and safeguarding practice. They are secure in the knowledge of the correct reporting procedure if they were to have a concern about a child in their care. The staff and management team understand their responsibility of meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Robust procedures are in place for induction, supervision and appraisals of staff, which includes management and peer on peer observations. This effectively monitors staff's practice and identifies any gaps in skills or knowledge. This means that targeted training can be provided to maintain ongoing and continuous improvements.

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provision

The management team and staff have a good understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The educational programme is monitored well to ensure that children gain a range of experiences that supports them effectively in all areas of learning and meets individual needs successfully.

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provision

Good partnerships with parents have been established. Information is shared on a regular basis both verbally and in written form. Parents spoken to at the inspection were very complimentary about the nursery staff and the provision. Parents feel that the staff know their children extremely well, and comment that they are very confident in the ability of the staff to meet their children's needs effectively.

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provision

Staff establish effective partnerships with other professionals, which enables them to support children with additional needs appropriately. However, systems to share welfare information with other early year's settings where children's care is shared are not fully established to promote stronger continuity for all children.

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provision

Self-evaluation is used effectively to reflect upon practice and review policies and procedures. Parents and children are issued with questionnaires asking for their views on various aspects of the nursery provision. The management and staff team are always looking at ways to improve the provision. This includes the provision of more natural materials in the play areas and the introduction of growing in the allotment to promote healthy eating.

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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 EY271409 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 940927 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 122 Number of children on roll 243 Name of provider Tops Day Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 11/02/2010 Telephone number 01823 342 038

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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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