Edgbaston KindergartenOfsted inspection, 22 Nov 2013

Edgbaston Kindergarten 413-415 Gillott Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands, B16 9LL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/11/2013 19/04/2011

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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

 Staff share information with schools about children's individual development, which helps towards a smooth transfer as children move onto full-time school.  All children have regular access to the interesting and spacious outdoor learning environments where they explore and learn about the wider world.  Staff are warm and caring and as a result, there are close and caring relationships between children and staff.

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It is not yet good because

 Children's welfare is not fully promoted because the registered provider has failed to ensure that a member of staff working directly with children has completed appropriate suitability checks. Self-evaluation of the nursery does not identify weaknesses in planning and assessment of individual children's needs.  Staff do not carefully reflect on the different ways that children learn so that planning for their individual learning needs is sufficiently precise to close any gaps in some children's learning.  Children's mealtimes are not organised to provide a positive social experience for all children as some of them sit on their own.

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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 compulsory part 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 conducted a joint observation of children's activities and staff child interaction with the manager of the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of staff working at the nursery, the provider's self-evaluation form and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the provider, manager and other staff throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the toddler room and pre-school room, the baby room, the outside learning environment and children having their lunchtime meal.  The inspector took into account the views of parents through discussion.

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Information about the setting

Edgbaston Kindergarten was registered in 1994 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. It is situated on the ground floor of a converted three storey house and is privately managed. The whole of the ground floor of the property is used for childcare with staff accessing the first floor. There is a self contained flat on the second floor of the building owned by the nursery, which has its own staircase and entrance. There is an enclosed garden and other areas available for outdoor play. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 12 members of childcare staff. Of these, nine hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and three staff have a level 2 qualification. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7.30m until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 58 children attending, who are in the early years age range. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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must:

 ensure that there is a Disclosure and Barring Service check for all staff who have direct contact with children

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must:

 ensure that staff are clear about children's individual stages of development and plan challenging activities that meet their individual developmental needs.

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

 re-arrange mealtime seating for the older children, so that this an enjoyable social occasion for all

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

 improve the self-evaluation, so this identifies where there are weaknesses in staffs' understanding of children's individual development.

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who attend

Children enjoy their activities at nursery and learn though a range of interesting activities that suit their ages and stages of development. All ages of children have easy access to the extensive outdoor areas where children enjoy a variety of interesting experiences. Staff place emphasis on promoting children's understanding of number through songs, action games and explanations. Children learn how to take away from a larger number as they enjoy a song about speckled frogs. They learn to recognise mathematical shapes as they match these in a game. Children are encouraged to develop their small muscle skills as they pour rice from one container to another and learn how to fold small napkins into squares securing these with plastic pegs. Although staff use tracking sheets to monitor children's progress these are not used effectively enough to plan further challenging activities for individual children. This results in planning not being sufficiently precise to

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who attend

provide children who have gaps in their learning with suitably challenging activities as there is more emphasis on staff planning for a group of children.

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who attend

Staff discuss their child's needs with their parents as they collect their child and provide photographic wall displays, so that parents can see some of the activities that have included their child. This provides parents with information so that they can support their child's learning when they return home. Children learn through a balance of adult directed activities and child initiated exploration. Staff make group activities interesting by building on what children know. They ask questions that encourage their involvement and develop their confidence in counting and adding to numbers. This prepares them for the next stage in their learning and as they move on to full-time school.

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who attend

Children enjoy being active participants in singing activities and are eager to volunteer and stand in front of the rest of the group, which promotes their confidence. Children enjoy using the outdoor areas where they learn to use wheeled toys and benefit from being outdoors in the fresh air. Outings to the local shops and park for older children further extend their understanding of the wider world. Younger babies learn to negotiate the environment outdoors, which helps them to develop their physical skills and encourages them to become more skilled as they develop their walking skills. Babies explore their indoor environment using a range of activity toys that are placed at their level. This encourages children to be curious as they explore their play area. During group circle time older children sit together and listen attentively to a story as they learn new vocabulary and contribute with their ideas and experiences. Staff listen to what children say and

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who attend

adapt their questions, so they build on what children know. Children who speak English as an additional language are appropriately supported as staff use various ways of communicating with children and ensure they are included in activities. Staff are sensitive to the needs of children who have a special educational needs and/or disabilities and work with external agencies to provide play plans that relate to their needs.

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

Children settle into the nursery as staff discuss with their parents aspects of their care needs so these can be followed when they start attending. There are suitable arrangements are in place when children move from one area of the nursery to another. Their key person liaises with the staff in their new room. For example, organising visits, that gradually increase in time, in their new room which encourages children to develop their confidence in the new environment.

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

Children enjoy nutritious meals supplied by an outside caterer. The caterer ensures children's dietary requirements are adhered and explanations from staff help children understand which food contributes towards a healthy lifestyle. Children learn how to be independent as older children pour their own drinks, which prepares them for the next stage in their learning and promotes their confidence. Most older children sit together during mealtimes, however, some children sit alone to eat due to the way the tables are arranged. This prevents some children enjoying mealtimes as a social occasion as they are unable to share conversations with other children.

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

The areas where children are cared for have an appropriate range of toys and resources that are suited to the ages of children and their stages of development. There are particularly spacious outdoor areas where children enjoy exploring and discovering the changes in the seasons. A vegetable garden is used during the summer months for children to grow their own vegetables, which they care for and harvest when these are ready. Children behave well and develop attachments with other children in their group, which prepares them for the next stage in their learning. They learn about keeping themselves healthy through the nursery routines as they wash their hands before their meals. Staff supervise activities reminding children how to respond safely. Through this children develop an understanding of how to keep themselves safe. Staff organise children's sleep times, so they rest in a peaceful and quiet environment. They stay in the

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

same room with sleeping children supervising them, which keeps them safe and enables children to be reassured when they wake. Staff are caring and warm towards children, which helps children feel secure. As a result, children have formed warm relationships with staff and approach them easily when they need help or reassurance.

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provision

Most of the staff in nursery have a Disclosure and Barring Service check completed on them to ensure their suitability. However, there is no Disclosure and Barring service check on a new member of staff who has recently commenced working at the nursery. The impact on children, however, is minimal as this member of staff is not counted in the staff child ratios and does not have unsupervised contact with any child. Staff training and professional development is supported by the nursery managers through staff appraisals and peer observations that monitor staffs' progress. The manager monitors the end of year summaries that report on children's progress. Although these provide a broad overview of each child's skills, abilities and progress this is not consistently thorough enough to ensure gaps in children's learning are closely quickly.

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provision

There are appropriate arrangements in place to ensure that the occupants of the domestic flat that is situated in the nursery are suitable. The risk assessments ensure children are kept safe as there are clear procedures in place that all staff understand and implement that manage any visitors to the nursery and to the flat. The nursery has a clear fire evacuation plan in place that ensures children are kept safe in the event of an emergency. Recommendations made by the fire officer after a recent fire inspection are being met by the nursery, which helps to further protect children.

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provision

Staff and managers have an appropriate understanding of safeguarding procedures. They have attended training and understand the procedures to follow if there are concerns regarding a child's care. There is a self-evaluation in place that measures the effectiveness of the nursery. Managers consult with staff, children and parents, so that improvements are considered and meet children's needs. This, however, is not fully effective as this has not identified weaknesses in the monitoring of children's progress and planning for their individual development. The nursery works alongside outside agencies following their advice and support where it is identified that a child has special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff complete transfer assessments for children who transfer to full-time school. School staff are invited into nursery to discuss children's individual progress with their key person and meet children who will eventually transfer to their school.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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

 ensure that any person caring for, or in regular contact with, children is suitable to work with children, which must include obtaining an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (compulsory 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 227164 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 939644

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 58 Name of provider The Montessori Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 19/04/2011 Telephone number 01297 33841 01214550883

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

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

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