Pear Tree Nursery

Pear Tree Nursery Mary Street, Longtown, CARLISLE, CA6 5UG

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11/11/2013 04/02/2013

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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 requires improvement

 Teaching is good because staff use effective teaching strategies that constantly support and challenge children so that they make good progress in their learning and development.  The sensitive and caring nature of each key person supports children's emotional well- being effectively. As a result, children are happy and contented.  Staff successfully promote children's independence and self-help skills at every opportunity. As a result, children are confident, active and independent from an early age.  Good relationships are established between parents, carers and staff because they regularly share information, which promotes continuity in children's care and learning in the nursery and at home.

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It is not yet good because

 The staff failed to follow the safeguarding procedure. They did not notify the local children's social care services without delay when they had concerns about a child in their care.  There are no formal procedures in place to monitor the staff's knowledge or understanding of any training completed, including safeguarding.  Opportunities to support children's use of their home language are not fully embraced by staff to reflect children's cultural and linguistic identity and language awareness.

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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 in three playrooms and the outside learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the manager and spoke to the staff and the children throughout the inspection.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, the planning documentation and the systems for the monitoring of children's progress.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with children, the policies and procedures for the setting and the documented self-evaluation systems and improvement plans that support the service.

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Information about the setting

Pear Tree Nursery opened in 2007 and is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is managed by Longtown Childcare Trust Ltd. It operates from the former junior school building in Longtown, approximately nine miles north of Carlisle. The nursery serves the immediate locality and also the surrounding areas. The nursery opens five days a week, from 8am until 6pm, all year round, except on bank holidays and for a week at Christmas. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The out of school provision, 'Kidzone', is open before and after school each weekday until 6pm and during school holidays. Children are cared for in four designated age related playrooms and have access to an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 39 children in the early years age range. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children for whom English is an additional language.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 11 staff working directly with the children, all of whom have an appropriate early years qualification, including the manager with Qualified Teacher Status. Seven of the staff have qualifications at level 3 and one at level 2. The nursery is a member of the National Day Nurseries Association and receives support from the local authority. The nursery is registered on

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must:

 ensure that the safeguarding procedures are followed without delay when practitioners are concerned about the safety and welfare of a child in their care

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must:

 implement a robust monitoring and assessment process of staff training to ensure that all staff maintain a confident, secure and up-to-date knowledge and understanding of the referral process and safeguarding procedures in the event of any future concerns.

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

 provide more opportunities to positively reflect the cultural and linguistic identity, background and experiences of children with English as an additional language by obtaining information from parents about home languages, cultural background and experiences to enable the continued support and development of children's language awareness and skills in the nursery.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is good because staff know their children well, therefore, they effectively meet all their learning needs and interests. Staff facilitate children's learning effectively. They have a good knowledge and understanding of how children learn and develop in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Therefore, they provide an exciting and interesting, broad and balanced curriculum, which engages all children in purposeful play and rich learning experiences. Staff use age appropriate teaching strategies, together with good support and intervention, which is matched to individual children's needs, including those children with English as an additional language and those requiring additional support. Staff help children to learn through planned activities and child-initiated play. They communicate constantly with the children to continually support language and communication skills. Staff model language and reinforce words and sounds by repeating

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who attend

what children say in a correct manner. They show children what to do as they play and guide them to achieve well through daily routines and practical skills. Staff explain things in simple terms when children ask them questions. For example, when a child asks, 'how do you turn the clocks back and why do you have to do it?', the member of staff shows them her watch and the mechanism to turn the hands on the dial. She explains the time using the watch face and the wall mounted clock and explains how the seasons change, when the clocks go back and when they move forward. Staff praise and encourage children at all times, which builds up their self-esteem and confidence in all areas. Staff use good questioning techniques to help extend children's ideas and provide an ongoing narrative for what they and the children do to further enhance children's play. They set challenges that are achievable but support their learning.

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who attend

Staff assess what children know, understand and can do and have high expectations of all children. As a result, children enjoy the teaching and learning promoted by staff and remain interested and stimulated during activities. For example, a staff member introduces a new play bag into the room. The children explore its contents and find a tape. Children are curious and ask what is on the tape, so the member of staff asks a child to put it in the tape recorder and switch it on. The children listen to the sounds and the music featured on the tape and they take turns to find the associated picture and place it in the jigsaw. Staff, therefore, take account of children's interest and dispositions for learning and they skilfully cover all the areas of learning in the activities and experiences provided. They use consistent assessment and planning processes, which are effectively implemented throughout the nursery. Staff are, therefore, familiar with children's

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who attend

individual stages of development and clearly identify their next steps in learning. Children with English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive good support and intervention, when this is required. The tracking systems used by staff help to clearly identify areas where individual children may need additional help and support. This is obtained swiftly through monitoring systems, which help to close the gaps in children's learning. As a result, all children are making good progress in preparation for their next stages of learning and gain the key skills required in readiness for school.

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who attend

Staff take the time to find out about children's interests and the starting points in their learning. They do this by obtaining information from parents when children first start at the nursery. Staff use this information, along with simple notes and more detailed written observations, to plan a range of appropriate activities for all children. Each key person summarises each child's progress in their learning and shares this information with parents at parent's evenings. This also includes the required progress check at age two. By doing so, parents are kept fully informed of their child's progress and how to continue with their learning at home. Parents are encouraged to contribute to their child's learning and development. Key persons provide parents with 'wow moment' sheets and a weekly diary. They receive a monthly newsletter and they are provided with healthy eating recipes and simple baking activities to complete at home with the children. Included in the weekly

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who attend

diaries are home activity sheets to promote early phonics so that parents can continue to help them with letters and sounds at home. This results in a good partnership established with parents, which benefits the children in many ways.

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

Staff consider children's safety and welfare in the nursery by helping them to understand how to keep themselves safe from harm. Staff teach children safe practices and how to keep themselves safe. Children take part in topics relating to safety, such as, 'stop, look and listen' road safety themes, fire safety through children's interest in fireworks and bonfire night and by taking part in the fire evacuation procedure so they know what to do in an emergency. Staff encourage children to play and learn cooperatively and to respect and tolerate each other. Therefore, most children are well behaved and well mannered. Staff deploy themselves effectively to support children. During activities, they sit close to children with behaviour management issues and use positive strategies to help support further good behaviour. As a result, children gain the social skills necessary in preparation for their move to the next stage of their learning.

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

The key person system is well established throughout the nursery rooms to ensure children's emotional needs are met. As a result, children are happy and contented. They build up a strong and secure attachment with their key person, who helps them to settle easily into the nursery routine. Staff are friendly and approachable. Children demonstrate that close relationships are firmly established. Younger children stay close to their key person, watching what they do and following them around. The staff are always on hand and stay close by so children feel at ease. As a result of this, children settle easily in to the nursery routine because they are familiar with the environment and the nursery staff. Settling-in procedures meet the needs of the children and their family members. Arrangements are made so that they attend for short periods of time until ready to stay for longer periods. Staff support children's move between rooms, when they are ready.

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

Staff engage well with parents. They obtain detailed information on registering and take the time to speak daily with them at arrival and collection times. This ensures that staff know about children's current interests and events, which staff can talk to children about and add into their planning. As a result, children's emotional well-being is fostered. The transition process from room to room when children are ready is managed well. Staff work with parents to ensure children are happy and accompany them on several short visits to ensure that this process is relaxed and as stress free as possible. Children are also well prepared for their move into other early year's settings, including the attached nursery school. This is because staff prepare the children by inviting in the teaching staff and by getting the pre-school children to talk about their experiences in nursery at mealtimes. Staff fully support children's independence from an early age, by ensuring children can

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

competently dress and undress themselves, learn health and hygiene skills and become fully independent at mealtimes. Staff effectively use information from parents and the other settings children attend to provide continuity of learning and focus on children's next steps so they continue to help children make good progress in their learning.

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

Staff provide an interesting and stimulating environment for all children, which helps promote their learning and development and meets their individual needs. The indoor and outdoor areas are well resourced with a wide range of quality equipment, manufactured toys, natural materials and open-ended resources, which engage children's interest and further aids independence. Children's art work is attractively displayed. Staff arrange the displays at a low level so that children can easily look at them. This shows children that their work is valued and promotes their sense of belonging. The environment is rich in print and there are labels and posters throughout the nursery. However, opportunities to promote and extend the use of children's home languages are not as effectively promoted to support children's differing backgrounds, including those with English as an additional language. Staff celebrate festivals throughout the year and there are resources accessible

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

to children that help promote difference, diversity and disability. Staff provide daily opportunities for children to access physical play and exercise outdoors. They take children to the attached children centre facilities to access the sensory room and arrange visits to the library and local elderly residential homes so children meet other people living in their community. Children have plenty of space to move around and use their large muscle skills outside. They ride wheeled toys and splash in puddles. The nursery provides a variety of nutritious healthy snacks including fruit and cereals and a healthy lunchtime meal is prepared in the school kitchen. Staff offer advice on healthy eating for parents and help children to understand about maintaining a healthy lifestyle through topics and discussion during mealtimes. Children have been involved in planting and growing outside, where they have observed peapods, tomatoes and plants grow. This gives staff the

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

opportunity to teach children about where different foods come from and to encourage different tastes at snack time.

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provision

The nursery is in partial breach of the safeguarding and welfare requirements and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register that potentially impacts on children's safety and welfare. The inspection was brought forward following a notification received of a concern raised by an outside agency, regarding the safeguarding procedures. The inspection found that although clear policies and procedures are in place, these were not fully adhered to in a timely way during a recent concern. Although advice was sought from the early years team, this caused a delay in notifying the children's social care team. Since this incident occurred all the staff, including the manager, have undertaken additional training delivered by the early years team and the manager and staff are booked on to level 2 and level 3 safeguarding courses. As a result of the additional training completed by all staff, their understanding is improved and they are

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provision

more confident in following the procedures if a concern is highlighted in the future. Staff attend training and professional development opportunities on a regular basis. They meet with the manager formally four times a year for supervision and appraisals and attend staff meetings monthly. However, in the light of recent events an action is made to ensure a more robust monitoring and assessment process of staff training and understanding is implemented, especially with regard to safeguarding. This is to ensure that all staff maintain a confident, secure and up to date knowledge and understanding of the referral process and safeguarding procedures, in the event of any future concerns about a child's safety and welfare. Nevertheless, the manager ensures the suitability of the staff working with the children through robust recruitment and suitability processes. Checks are completed and original qualification documents are scrutinised and recorded to ensure

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provision

that all staff meet the required level of qualifications, skills and experiences required. All staff are vetted through the Disclosure and Barring Service checks and written references are obtained to ensure staff are suitable and safe to work with the children. A full and detailed induction is completed by the manager for new staff and apprentices. Staff ensure that children are protected from potential hazards throughout the nursery and during outings because safety checks and full risk assessments are conducted regularly.

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provision

Staff teaching practice is good. There are good processes in place to monitor children's overall progress in their learning and development. The manager works hands on alongside staff and observes the effectiveness of their teaching methods. The manager and staff work well as a team and support each other's learning. For example, the manager was required to update her skills with the younger children so she worked in the baby room to gain more experience. The manager and staff know the children well. Further checks are completed by the manager while looking at children's development and progress reports to ensure that they correctly reflect the assessment of each child's individual development and learning. Tracking documents clearly show how children are making progress and identify clearly any delay or gaps in development, so that intervention is secured swiftly. The manager and staff have a strong commitment to

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provision

continuing to offer the best quality care, teaching and learning experiences for all children. They reflect on their practice through self-evaluation, local authority reviews and constructive action plans to sustain improvement. Areas for development are identified and promptly completed. For example, staff identify that children would benefit from a separate pre-school room. So, with funding obtained, a new room with new resources is almost ready, with free flow into the outdoor play area and additional new toilet facilities available for the pre-school children. The baby room units have all been replaced and a low sink installed to enable the younger children to gain more independence in washing and drying their own hands. Staff hold parent evenings where they ask parents to complete questionnaires, so that they can incorporate their views and suggestions into the review process. The numerous improvements made since the last inspection demonstrate

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provision

the management team's drive to improve constantly. The previous recommendations have all been successfully implemented.

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provision

Relationships and partnerships with parents are strong. Parents express a high regard for the staff and service provided. The positive comments received from parents during the inspection include reference to how well they are kept informed about children's routines, daily activities and progress. They find the staff friendly and approachable and their children enjoy attending. Staff understand their responsibility to work closely with other childcare professionals, as appropriate, to support any special educational needs and/or disabilities a child may have. They work closely with the children's centre in an adjoining building and use their facilities, training opportunities and children's activities to provide further support and learning experiences for the children.

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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:

 ensure staff implement the written statement of procedures to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguard the children being cared for from abuse or neglect (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure staff implement the written statement of procedures to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguard the children being cared for from abuse or neglect (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 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 EY344683 Local authority Cumbria Inspection number 940861

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 50 Number of children on roll 39 Name of provider Longtown Childcare Trust Limited Date of previous inspection 04/02/2013 Telephone number 01228 791 005

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Type of provision

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises, which are usually the childminder’s own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children,

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Type of provision

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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