Merrydale Day Nursery and Pre-

Merrydale Day Nursery Broad Oak House, Coppid Beech Hill, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 1PD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 06/11/2013 29/10/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 3 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

 Staff are effectively deployed to support children's growing confidence and independence skills. Teaching is good and enables all children to make sound progress across all areas of learning, given their starting points.  Staff consistently give the highest priority to children's health and well-being. The varied range of experiences available to children effectively supports children's developing awareness of the importance of a healthy lifestyle.  Staff have developed very strong relationships with parents and others. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, benefit greatly from this continuity of care.  The drive for improvement is demonstrated through accurate and thorough self- evaluation, resulting in successful improvement plans that support all children's achievements over time.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The range of books in the pre-school room are not always accessible to the children and some books are missing pages.  Some staff are less secure in their understanding of how to model phonic sounds or provide a consistent message in displays in order to encourage early handwriting.

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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 held meetings with the nursery owner, nursery manager and other members of staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's development files, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of staff working in the setting, the provider's self-evaluation form and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took into account the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children during their play and group activities, and at lunch and during play in the garden.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the nursery manager.

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Information about the setting

Merrydale Day Nursery is one of 10 nurseries run by Complete Childcare Limited. It operates from a variety of rooms in a converted house situated on the outskirts of Wokingham, Berkshire. Children have access to a variety of rooms within the house and there is an enclosed garden for outdoor play. Children come from a wide catchment area and attend for a variety of sessions.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 56 children on roll who attend a variety of different sessions. The nursery is in receipt of early years education funding for children aged two, three and four years. The nursery opens from 7.30am to 6.00pm for 51 weeks of the year. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 12 members of staff to work directly with the children. Of these, eight hold appropriate childcare qualifications. Music and movement and French language lessons are provided by peripatetic teachers. The nursery also employs a cook and cleaner.

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

 introduce sharper monitoring to check that all staff fully understand how to best model early phonics sounds and writing.

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

 enhance the range of books in the pre-school room to fully promote children's appreciation of written print and story.

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who attend

Children are happy, confident and enjoy their time in this welcoming and friendly nursery. All staff have a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and use this to assess and plan for children's learning. Staff assess children's starting points well on entry to the nursery. They know their key children well and plan daily according to their interests, to ensure they have challenging experiences that enhance their learning and development. Staff asses children's progress weekly, and monthly reports are shared with parents, which effectively detail children's achievements and next steps. This gives a good overview of where children are at in their development. It means that staff can see how their key children are making progress or where they may need to target more help and support. Staff work effectively with outside professionals to ensure that individual targets for children are appropriate and promote opportunities for them to enjoy and achieve in

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who attend

the provision. Staff have successfully implemented the progress check for children aged two years in partnership with parents and, where appropriate, they have initiated additional support for children identified as having an additional need.

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who attend

Staff plan and provide interesting experiences and activities that challenge children to make good progress and prepare them for school. They identify priorities for future learning and build on children's interests and current capabilities. In preparation for the skills children will need for early writing, they are provided with opportunities which encourage them to make marks for a purpose. However, the displays and resources in the pre-school room do not provide a consistent message, which may cause confusion for children as they being to recognise that writing has a purpose. Nevertheless, many of the older children confidently write their names on their work and enjoy opportunities to mark make outside or at the writing table. Here, they access a varied range of resources such as postcards, envelopes and cards to support learning.

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who attend

Staff plan a rich variety of activities to support babies progress. Babies and younger children enjoy a good range of activities, including a range of stimulating multi-sensory play activities in the refurbished playrooms. For example, they can access sand, water and messy play daily or mark make and paint in the art room. These play spaces support their learning further as they develop their co-ordination and skill in walking or crawling as they climb and balance in the soft play room. Babies are very settled and motivated in their play and enjoy good levels of attention from caring staff. Toddlers benefit from exciting and energetic play in the fresh air as they extend their learning with opportunities in outdoor classroom space. Staff who work within this age group exhibit a passion for learning which successfully motivates and challenges children in their play. They are supportive as they show children how to use different tools, such as watering cans,

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who attend

buckets and plastic forks and spades, so that children demonstrate high levels of curiosity and remain interested in their play. Staff effectively plan around children's interests with a clear focus on adapting activities and experiences so that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities can fully engage.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is good and staff are competent in supporting children's communication and enhancing their thinking skills. Throughout the nursery, staff engage the children purposefully in conversations; introducing new words through their play and activities. They make good use of open-ended questions and are skilled in giving the children time to respond and describe their experiences. This allows children to demonstrate high levels of self-assurrance as even the very youngest children in the setting communicate their needs and preferences with confidence. In the pre-school room staff use a phonics based programme to support and extend children's language and communication skills, relevant to their individual needs. This is effectively embedded throughout the day in the activities on offer in fun and exciting ways. Although children show high levels of confidence as they name sounds and link them to letters, the

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who attend

pronunciation of some phonics sounds are not consistently modelled by staff in line with the phonics programme. However, staff frequently use songs, rhymes and books to build and encourage children further in readiness for school. Children access a good range of technology and use tablet style computers to design drawings or to access further information about their topic work. They demonstrate that they are competent in using a variety of applications and enjoy drawing, painting and designing their virtual pictures with the help of staff. Weekly French lessons build on their understanding of language and they enjoy singing well known songs together in this new language.

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who attend

Staff have established good partnerships with parents. Discussions with parents demonstrate that they value the welcoming and friendly approach of the staff team. They say that staff are very good at listening to their requests and they comment on the warm and caring relationships that have been established with their children. All parents are invited to termly meetings where they can discuss their children's progress with their child's key person. Staff also involve parents in their children's learning by building on children's interests from home. For example, parents are invited to write down children's current interests on the notice board so staff can use these ideas in their planning and activities. This helps children feel valued and builds on their prior learning and interests form home, which supports good levels of progress overall.

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

All children including babies are extremely well settled and are happy when they are left at nursery. Staff find out individual home routines from parents and visits are offered to help children become familiar with the nursery and, as a result, most children settle in well. Children's care routines are adhered to and a clear exchange of regular information between parents and staff ensures that changing needs are consistently met. As a result, children appear comfortable in their surroundings because staff work closely together to provide consistency of care.

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

Staff are deployed effectively in the nursery to promote children's safety and enjoyment. The environment is rich in age-appropriate toys, games and resources which are easily accessible to children to promote their learning, and includes free flow access to the outdoor play area. Interactions between staff and children are good, which means that children are forming caring bonds and secure emotional attachments. They approach their key person easily and they receive natural, warm cuddles. Displays and photographs along the entranceway, which show some of the activities that children take part in, give a welcoming, friendly feel to the nursery.

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

Children are showing good awareness of their own and others' safety. They are encouraged to take manageable risks when joining in the forest school activities and older children carefully explain the rules of the big outdoor slide and discuss their good understanding of the need for adult supervision. Children behave well throughout the nursery and incidents of poor behaviour are rare because children are engaged and always active in their play. Children are learning to take turns, to listen and follow instructions, as they engage in small group activities. Staff provide effective role models to children and continually praise them for their achievements in working together cooperatively. Children's home backgrounds, language and cultures are positively valued in the provision through the celebration of festivals and access to a varied range of resources that meets the children's needs. Children with dietary requirements or medical needs are well cared for. Staff are vigilant in

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

ensuring that these are met at all times and similar meal options are offered to children with additional dietary needs to ensure they feel included. Meal times are good social occasions for the children who are encouraged to cut up their own meals and pour their own drinks. They enjoy wholesome, freshly cooked food on the premises by the nursery cook who through her menu choices promotes a healthy ethos. Children enjoy learning about the benefits of healthy options as they take part in a weekly cooking club. They learn to handle utensils sensibly and are introduced to wide choice of new foods.

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

Children enjoy exploring their outdoor environments where they have ample opportunities to move independently and learn new skills. The nursery provides children with a well- resourced and attractive indoor and outdoor learning environment. This is fully accessible to meet all children's individual needs and therefore contributes towards them making progress across all areas of the curriculum. Resources to promote physical challenge include climbing and balancing apparatus and a weekly visit from a forest schoolteacher allows children to build dens and experiment with outdoors learning. Older children clearly enjoy the weekly Little Movers sessions with an external sports coach, which further enhances their physical skills and promotes the benefits of an active lifestyle.

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

Children are well prepared for their next stage in learning as there are successful arrangements in place to facilitate moves between rooms, as children progress. Consequently, children are very well supported and move seamlessly through the nursery. Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and medical conditions are very well supported and good relationships with outside agencies enhance their development. As a result, all children are supported in this inclusive environment, and are gaining the skills and confidence they need to be ready for the next stage in their learning or as they start school.

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provision

The manager and staff team have a very good understanding of their responsibilities to safeguard children and promote their welfare. There are robust recruitment and selection procedures, which include carefully checking references and carrying out all appropriate checks to ensure suitability. This is further enhanced by requesting staff complete a disclosure document every year at appraisal to confirm their continued suitability to work with children. Performance is managed well, through supervisions, regular team meetings, appraisals and reviews. All staff have a secure knowledge of their roles and the nurseries policies and procedures which underpin the safe and efficient management of the setting, and these are followed well.

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provision

Staff are duly focused on supporting and monitoring children's welfare. All staff have attended child protection training and demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of safeguarding protocols and procedures. There are secure links with outside professionals to support the on-going monitoring of children's welfare. Children are cared for in a safe, comfortable and secure environment. Staff maintain regular risk assessments of all resources, furniture and outdoor equipment to ensure that potential hazards can be made safe or are removed.

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provision

The leadership and management of the nursery are good and the management team are highly focused on promoting quality in all aspects of the nursery. A strong drive for improvement demonstrates that they are fully committed to providing the best possible start for children in their early years. The manager seeks the views of parents, staff and children as part of the self-evaluation process, and this is achieved through parent consultation, questionnaires, staff meetings and discussions with children. These are acted on and improvements put into place. The manager has successfully addressed the recommendations from the previous inspection. Since the last inspection, the nursery has been refurbished and provides a warm and welcoming modern environment for the children to learn. As a result, the effective management arrangements ensure the setting is committed to continually evolving and enhancing the good quality service offered to

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provision

The management team demonstrate a secure knowledge of the learning and development requirements. The manager's overview of the educational programme is effective. Planning and assessment is monitored and children's progress carefully tracked to identify children and groups of children who may be making slower than expected progress. Continuous professional development is encouraged at the setting and staff have access to a range of in-house and external training opportunities to enhance their knowledge and skills. This means gaps in learning are closing. Those in charge ensure key persons make accurate judgements on children's progress, which has led to all children being well prepared for school.

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provision

There is a strong focus placed on inclusion at the nursery. The dedicated special educational needs coordinator in the nursery works with parents and external professionals, such as speech and language therapists and inclusion workers very well. She implements suggestions and activities made by outside professionals, which means that all children with differing needs receive the targeted support they need. She holds regular review meetings with the parents, child's key person and the relevant external professional, so that close partnership working enables all children to make progress and reach their full potential. Parents are provided with a wide range of information sources as they can access the nursery's website, blog and receive regular newsletters and texts to keep them updated.

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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 Requires improvement The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected within twelve months of the date of this inspection. 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

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Grade Judgement Description

the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. 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 148617 Local authority Wokingham Inspection number 937773 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 38 Number of children on roll 58 Name of provider Kingsclere Nurseries Limited Date of previous inspection 29/10/2012 Telephone number 01344 412132

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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

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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