Little Tinkers

Little Tinkers Scocus Barn, Five Ashes, Mayfield, East Sussex, TN20 6JJ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 01/11/2013 19/10/2009

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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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children have a lot of fun in the nursery as they play happily with their friends.  Staff fully exploit their farm location to teach children about animals and enthuse them about the natural world.  The relaxing, friendly environment helps children to feel secure. They behave well and develop good social skills as they learn to share and take turns.  Children show high levels of imagination as they play complex role-play games.  Effective safety arrangements are in place, protecting children as they play and learn.

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It is not yet good because

 The nursery is unable to make the required record of complaints available to Ofsted on request.  The presentation of resources is not always fully effective in engaging children's interests and encouraging them to explore independently.  Arrangements to work in partnership with other early years providers are not fully effective to support consistency of care and learning.

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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 viewed all areas of the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with staff, parents and children at appropriate times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the interaction of staff and children during a range of activities and undertook a joint observation with a member of the management team.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed a selection of documentation including registers of attendance, policies and children's developmental records.

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Information about the setting

Little Tinkers registered in 2009 and is located in a converted barn near Five Ashes in East Sussex. The premises consist of two group rooms, both of which have direct access to fully enclosed outdoor play spaces. There is also a small holding with livestock in the nursery grounds.

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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. The nursery opens from 8am to 6pm each weekday for 51 weeks of the year. There are currently 107 children on roll, of whom 98 are in the early years age group. The nursery receives funding to provide free early education for children aged three and four years.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 11 staff, including the manager. Of these, eight hold relevant early years qualifications.

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must:

 ensure that the record of complaints is made available to Ofsted on request.

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

 review the organisation of resources, particularly books and art and craft materials, to make these more appealing and easier for children to select independently

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

 strengthen the arrangements used to communicate with other early years providers, where children attend more than one setting, to provide consistency of care.

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who attend

Children make satisfactory progress in their learning and development. They enjoy a broad range of activities and experiences. However, until recently, arrangements for assessing children's progress and planning for the next steps in their learning have been imprecise and inconsistent. New systems introduced by the management team are beginning to improve outcomes for children. These new arrangements are also beginning to provide parents with clearer information about their child's progress and including them more fully in their child's learning. Appropriate arrangements are in place to complete the required progress checks for children aged two years.

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who attend

Staff interact positively with children and playfully join in their games. This creates a strong sense of fun within the nursery and helps to promote children's self-esteem. Staff use effective strategies to promote children's communication and language. They engage children in lively conversations as they play and ask questions which encourage them to think. Children have regular opportunities to engage in physical games both indoors and outside. They enjoy music and movement activities supported by adults and also use ride- on toys and rockers outside. The youngest children also have resources to promote their mobility, such as tunnels to encourage crawling and low-level climbing equipment. As a result, all children develop their coordination and control.

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who attend

Children practise drawing and pre-writing skills using resources such as chalkboards. They have constant independent access to art and craft materials although the presentation of these is not particularly inspiring for children. Those who choose to explore this area produce individual and expressive art. They confidently make models which they cover with paint and glitter.

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who attend

Staff teach children about the natural world, including farming, by visiting the small holding in the nursery grounds. Children benefit from regular walks in the nursery grounds and talk confidently about the different animals.

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who attend

Satisfactory arrangements are in place to care for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff communicate effectively with parents and other professionals to support children's individual needs.

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

Children enter the nursery happily and show a strong sense of security and confidence. An effective key person system means that each child's personality and care needs are understood and respected. Children are extremely polite, caring and good humoured. They behave very well and develop good social skills, following the positive role modelling of staff.

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

Staff offer good encouragement for children to make choices and decisions. This helps them to develop independence in their learning, which prepares them well for their move to school. As part of their freely chosen play children use the indoor climbing frame as a base for their role-play games. They move particularly carefully and steadily on the equipment while wearing costumes and when carrying toys up to the platform. Experiences such as this encourage children to consider their own safety and the safety of others while taking carefully managed risks.

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

Overall, the organisation of space and the range of resources available are good. There are very large quantities of toys and resources for the children to explore. This means that there are plenty for children to share when several children choose the same activity. Children confidently transport items to different areas within the nursery to extend their chosen games. The quality of the presentation of resources varies throughout the nursery. Some areas are very appealing and ignite children's interest. The exceptions to this are the art area which is so full of materials, including cartons and boxes for making models, that it is not easy for children to explore. Similarly there are so many books in the display unit in the under two's room that children cannot always select these independently to help develop their literacy skills.

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

Staff offer children good encouragement to understand the importance of following healthy lifestyles. They spend a lot of time playing outside and benefit from the fresh air. Children bring in packed lunches from home and the nursery provides nutritious snacks during the morning and afternoon. Children are also able to select fruit from a bowl if they are hungry. There are drinks available for children to reach at all times. Nappy changing procedures are hygienic and older children visiting the toilet independently know to wash their hands. Staff follow good hygiene practices throughout the nursery to ensure the environment is kept clean and suitable for the children's use.

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

Staff offer focussed support to children as they approach school age to ensure that they feel ready for the changes that they are facing. They also invite reception teachers in to the nursery to meet the children.

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provision

Overall, the leadership and management of the nursery are satisfactory. The management team understand their responsibility to promote children's learning and development. There is a strong focus on providing interesting, fun experiences for children but some elements of the organisation are not fully effective in promoting good outcomes for children. However, a process of self-evaluation has recently been undertaken and has successfully identified areas for improvement. As a result, a range of systems are being implemented which are beginning to benefit children. These include the arrangements used to monitor children's progress and to identify any gaps in achievement. In addition, there is now a more structured system in place to supervise staff, monitor their performance and identify training needs. A broad range of policies and recording systems have also been reviewed and refined and part of the ongoing improvements. The

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provision

organisation of documentation is not fully effective as staff are unable to comply with the requirement to provide Ofsted with the record of complaints received. This is a breach of requirement of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, though the impact on children is low.

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provision

Parents spoken to during the inspection say that they appreciate the friendly atmosphere within the nursery. They feel confident that their children are happy and are developing high levels of self-confidence and self-esteem. Staff maintain good relationships with reception teachers at local schools. They also have experience of working with a range of professionals such as those working to support children with special educational needs. However, the arrangements to work in partnership with other early years practitioners are not effective. Staff do not routinely communicate with other settings where care of children is shared. This does not support them to provide cohesive, coordinated care.

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provision

Safety arrangements within the nursery are suitably robust. Staff complete the register of attendance appropriately and carry out regular risk assessments along with daily health and safety checks to make sure that the premises and activities are safe. One member of staff takes lead responsibility for safeguarding and has attended training for this role to make sure they are able to appropriately safeguard children's welfare in the event of any concerns being raised. Clear procedures are in place to respond to concerns about the welfare of any child. These also include the process to follow in the case of an allegation against staff. Appropriate recruitment procedures are in place, which helps to ensure staff's suitability to work with children. There is a named deputy in place to take on the lead role when the manager is absent, to ensure children's welfare is safeguarded and their needs are met.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 make available to Ofsted, on request, a summary of complaints made in relation to the requirements during the past 12 months and the action that was taken as a consequence, and a list of such complaints made during the previous three years. (Compulsory part of the Childcare Register).  make available to Ofsted, on request, a summary of complaints made in relation to the requirements during the past 12 months and the action that was taken as a consequence, and a list of such complaintsmade during the previous three years. (Voluntary part of the Childcare Register)

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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 EY375779 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 914867 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 52 Number of children on roll 107 Name of provider Ellen Hanna Date of previous inspection 19/10/2009 Telephone number 01825 830772

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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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