Pepperberry Day Nursery

Pepperberry Day Nurseries Ltd Hawthorn Street, WILMSLOW, Cheshire, SK9 5EL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25/11/2013 10/10/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Children make excellent progress in all areas of their learning and development. This is because staff continually assess their abilities and plan a rich variety of interesting and challenging activities to support their identified next steps in learning.  Staff have an excellent awareness of how young children learn. They use this knowledge to support children to develop new skills through their skilful teaching. This means that children are continuously challenged, supporting them to become highly motivated learners.  Children's safety and well-being is given a high priority. Consequently, children are happy, settled, secure and relationships are excellent. This fosters a sense of belonging and ensures that children are confident learners, who are emotionally well-prepared for the next stages in their learning.  Leadership is inspirational. Meticulous focus on self-evaluation and reflective practice

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This provision is outstanding

ensures that staff, parents and children are highly involved in the setting's continual improvement, in pursuit of excellence. As a result, staff are highly motivated and have high expectations of children and themselves.  Partnerships with parents, other settings and professionals are excellent. This ensures that children's needs are quickly identified and that they receive targeted support appropriate to their individual needs.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed a range of activities in all play rooms and the outside learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector conducted a joint observation of an indoor activity with the setting manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with children, staff, manager, business manager and director during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed a wide range of documentation, including children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children, staffing rotas and the provider's self-evaluation form and improvement plan.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents from written feedback gained through the setting's parent surveys.

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Information about the setting

Pepperberry Day Nurseries Ltd was registered in 2011 on the Early Years Register. The nursery is situated in Wilmslow, Cheshire and serves the local area. Children are cared for in four designated areas according to their ages and stages of development, on both the ground and first floor of the premises. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 26 members of childcare staff, 22 of whom hold early years qualifications, while four are working towards a qualification at level 3. One member of staff is qualified to degree level and one holds Early Years Professional Status. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am to 6pm. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 124 children on roll all within the early years age range, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery has achieved the Investors in People award in 2013.

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

 enhance the already first class selection of books in all rooms to include age- appropriate factual books, to further enhance children's excellent literacy skills and developing interest in literature.

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who attend

Staff plan and provide an exceptionally varied range of activities and experiences for children, both indoors and outdoors. These opportunities are based upon staff's excellent awareness of how young children learn and their meticulous observations and sharply focused assessments of each child's abilities. Planning is always current as it takes place weekly and is based upon staff's knowledge of children's interests and identified next steps in learning. Evaluations of all activities establish whether these have had an impact upon children's learning and skills or further planning in this area is required. This ensures that activities and opportunities provided are both focused and purposeful. For example, an ice melting activity is provided, aiding older children to develop an understanding of the processes of change. Staff develop children's knowledge of what happens to cause this process through their skilful teaching, which is outstanding. There is an excellent balance

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who attend

of adult-led and child-led opportunities, enabling children to repeat and test out what they have learnt from staff. Children have a wealth of interesting opportunities to experience different cultures and festivals, meet animals, such as alpacas and learn about people who help them, such as fire fighters. The nursery chef provides weekly opportunities for children to enjoy cooking and baking. In addition, an inspiring range of additional activities, led by external professionals, such as, Spanish classes, rhyme time for under two's, music band time, stretch and grow and information technology are also provided each week. This is further enhanced through the vibrant and richly resourced learning environment, which is organised to enable children to freely choose resources to support their play and learning. This means that children are continuously challenged, supporting them to become motivated learners and helping them to make rapid progress in their

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who attend

All staff understand the importance of supporting children's communication and language skills at all times, especially for those children learning English as an additional language. Parents are asked to provide key words from children's home language to reassure and reinforce their understanding and support their child's needs. Staff provide excellent commentary and open questions to children during their play, to engage children in practising their language skills. Children are not hurried to give a response and are clearly given time to think about what they want to say. Staff sing songs and read stories with enthusiasm, which captivates children's attention. For example, a number based story is used by staff to name the numbers, count out with their fingers and identify the rhyming words, such as 'fox' and 'box'. This opportunity enhances children's understanding of numbers and counting and also extends their literacy and thinking skills through

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who attend

identifying rhyming sounds. Older children proudly identify their creative work through their name attached to it and confidently sound out the initial letter of their names. This demonstrates that daily phonics sessions with older children are evidently having an impact upon their literacy skills. The environment is rich in print and staff encourage children of all ages to draw and write, both inside and out in the garden. For example, babies are supported to make marks in flour and sand and toddlers are encouraged to draw shapes with chalks, staff extend this activity by teaching them the number of sides which each shape has. All of these opportunities support children's developing literacy skills, in readiness for the next stage in their learning, such as school. There is scope, however, to enhance the excellent selection of books available in all rooms, to include age-appropriate factual books, to further enhance children's already superb literacy skills

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who attend

Children are very well-prepared as they get ready to move on to other settings and into school. Through management liaison with local schools, staff are fully aware of the skills which children need, such as independently dressing and washing themselves. In addition, the teaching of phonics and encouraging children to write their own names, prepares them exceptionally well with the skills needed for this next step in their learning. Staff engage parents, carers and others in children's learning and development, providing regular opportunities to discuss children's needs. They share progress summaries regularly with parents and provide them with a 'progress check at age two', where appropriate. Parents are encouraged to take home their child's learning journeys, which record their progress, to keep them regularly updated. These positive partnerships and relationships ensure that there is effective information sharing and consistency for the child and that

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who attend

those in need of additional support receive this to ensure that their needs are fully met. Where children have identified special educational needs, parents are fully involved in individual educational plans, put in place to support the child's individual needs. Parents are highly involved as partners, completing 'all about me' information with staff when their child initially starts, sharing ongoing observations from home and participating in regular progress reviews. Opportunities for parents to engage in activities in the setting, include outings, taking a bear home to share news about their adventures with others and sharing first reading schemes with their children at home. These opportunities ensure that parents are fully involved in their child's learning and development.

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

There is an excellent and flexible settling-in procedure in place, which supports children's smooth transition into the setting. Staff have worked hard to develop this area of their practice, ensuring that this is a sensitive process when children move to the next room in the setting or on to school also. High priority is given to ensuring that children move in to the next room when they are observed to be emotionally ready, rather than age ready. Visits to the new room are documented, monitoring the child's well-being and enabling staff to review the timing or additional number of visits the child may need. Each room has a 'transition box' which is shared with parents. This provides them with detailed information about each staff member in the room, their qualifications and experience, routines, examples of the range of activities their child will be involved in and everything they need to know about, including photographs of where their child will sleep. This,

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

alongside the outstanding key person system in place, ensures that children quickly and happily settle into the setting and that parents are also very well-supported. This reflects the superb relationships which develop between staff, children and their parents. Staff place a high level of importance upon children being happy and give high priority to their emotional security which they acknowledge is vital to enabling children to flourish in their learning and development. Parents comment that they have excellent relationships with all staff. They share information with staff about their child's care needs, interests and achievements. This enables staff to appropriately support the child's needs and provide for their interests from the outset. As a result, children have strong and secure emotional attachments with staff. Children are visibly happy, confident and secure, reflecting their sense of belonging and feeling safe. This enables them to enjoy their time and make

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

excellent progress in all areas of their development and learning, in a safe and secure environment.

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

Children quickly develop their independence in self-help skills. This is because staff know children exceedingly well and recognise when they are ready to take responsibility, such as managing their own hygiene needs when washing their hands. Children have their own coat pegs with their name and photograph, supporting even the youngest children to independently hang up or collect their coat for outdoor play. Babies are supported as soon as they are ready to drink from open cups and older children to serve their own snacks and drinks. The learning environment enables children of all ages to independently select resources of their choice, supporting them to extend their play and their developing imagination. Displays celebrate children's creativity and the many photographs of children engaged in activities, celebrate the skills they have used and the learning gained from these experiences. Positive behaviour is highly evident and children happily play together.

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

This is because staff understand the importance of ensuring that children are actively engaged in play, to prevent them from becoming bored and support children to work together. The setting has simple rules, such as using kind hands and these are reinforced throughout the sessions. Staff are exceptional role models as they are kind and respectful to one another and welcoming to visitors. This results in children who are polite and respectful and curious to find out by asking questions. These personal skills in managing their emotions and developing positive relationships support children extremely well towards the next stage of their learning, such as school.

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

Children enjoy fresh air and exercise, developing physical skills and confidence as they play on large equipment in the outdoor area. For example, staff support children to develop skills in balancing outdoors, demonstrating how to hold out their arms when walking along balancing beams. Opportunities like these, support children in taking safe risks, learning how to protect themselves from harm. Indoors, children take part in activities, such as 'stretch and grow' or dance classes. Staff take the opportunity to develop children's physical skills at every opportunity. For example, an impromptu dance session to music with toddlers, leads into the member of staff encouraging children to jump, touch their toes and do star jumps, which they do both skilfully and enthusiastically. Children are supported in developing an understanding of how to keep themselves safe in a number of ways. Before outings, staff discuss road safety and stranger danger with

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

older children. Children of all ages are supported to understand the importance of tidying away after themselves, to ensure that trip and fall hazards are kept to a minimum. Staff support children well in understanding the importance of a healthy diet through discussions and topics about foods that are healthy and those which are not. A healthy, balanced menu is provided by the nursery chef and children take part in regular cooking sessions with her. Children are involved in growing vegetables outdoors, which are harvested and eaten. This supports children in making healthy choices.

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provision

Each staff member is confident and has a thorough understanding of the policies and procedures that underpin the exceptional practice in the setting. Robust recruitment and suitability processes are in place to assess and continually appraise staff suitability. New employees take part in a thorough induction and support process to ensure that they meet the high standards set by the management. Continual monitoring by the management team and effective and frequent supervision ensures that all staff maintain high standards of professionalism and integrity. Whole room and individual staff observations conducted by the manager, registered provider and unit or room leaders ensures that the provision is reviewed and maintained to an exceptionally high standard at all times. All staff have a thorough understanding of their roles and responsibilites in safeguarding and promoting children's welfare. Staff receive refresher training and policies are frequently updated, so

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provision

staff members are fully familiar with the child protection procedures in the local area and have confidence to follow these. The manager is highly pro-active in ensuring the safety and well-being of all who use the setting and frequently reviews policies and procedures to ensure robust practices are in place. Regular reviews of risk assessments and accident forms ensure that any potential safety risks are swiftly identified and addressed. Staff knowledge and understanding of policies and procedures is regularly checked through policy questionnaires, resulting in further support if necessary. All of the required documentation is in place and is meticulously reviewed and maintained.

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provision

Leadership is inspirational, underpinned by the philosophy that children are the first priority, linked to the nursery motto of 'Learn, Enjoy, Flourish' and the quality principles which staff strive hard to aspire to. Meticulous focus on self-evaluation and reflective practice ensures that staff, parents and children are highly involved in the setting's continual improvement, in pursuit of excellence. Clear, targeted improvement plans are in place to address any areas identified for development. As a result, staff are highly motivated and have high expectations of children and themselves. Management have introduced innovative ideas, such as parent focus groups, to seek the views of parents on the quality of the provision. Parents from each age range room are invited to spend the day in the setting, get involved in activities and eat with children. At the end of their day, they complete a questionnaire, evaluating the nursery on the quality of the environment,

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provision

the activities, happiness and involvement of children and any areas they feel could be improved. Their feedback is highly valued, contributing to continual self-evaluation and improvement plans. Management share the outcomes of these sessions with everyone, through the monthly newsletters which are shared with all parents via e-mail and the nursery website.

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provision

The nursery employs a highly qualified and skilled workforce, including qualifications at degree level and Early Years Professional Status. The majority of staff hold a childcare qualification at level three and those employed as apprentices are working towards this level, whilst receiving consistently high levels of coaching and support. The manager ensures that ratios are met at all times, to ensure that children have a high level of care and attention. It is evident that this expert workforce are using their training and experience gained while working in the childcare field, to develop their practice and the setting's aspirations, through outstanding daily provision. The management team closely monitor that planning and assessments of children's learning are meticulously maintained, ensuring that all children are making rapid progress and that any child identified as needing additional support receives this swiftly. An ongoing training programme, which

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provision

the setting invests financially in, supports staff in their continual professional development. Management highly value their staff's expertise and staff benefit from a range of rewards and incentives for innovative ideas or exemplary practices. The setting has recently been awarded Investors in People, in recognition of the high value they place upon their first class staff. Partnerships with parents, other settings and professionals are excellent. This ensures that children's needs are quickly identified and that they receive targeted support appropriate to their individual needs. The information obtained from parents on their child's individual care and learning is outstanding and communication between staff and parents is excellent. Parents highly value the positive relationships they have with staff and their welcome involvement in the setting. There is a wealth of information available for parents through parent's noticeboards, monthly newsletters, parent's evenings and the

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provision

setting's highly informative website. Parental involvement is highly valued through the information they share when their child first starts in the setting, observations from home, parent focus groups and online questionnaires. The manager addresses any comments made by parents in the same thorough format that a complaint would be investigated and addressed. This highlights the high level of importance which is placed upon partnership working and ensures that they work exceptionally well together to meet children's needs. Staff also ensure that links with other professionals, involved with children they support who have special educational needs and/or disabilities or English as an additional language are strong, in order to ensure a fully cohesive approach to each child's care and learning. Links with schools which children move on to are strong and teachers are invited to visit the setting to meet children and share information about their learning and development.

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provision

Since gaining outstanding in their previous inspection, the setting has opened its doors to other childcare providers in the area, firmly believing that the sharing of their practice is their duty, to support all children in receiving a first class early years opportunity.

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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 EY429884 Local authority Cheshire East Inspection number 943053

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 95 Number of children on roll 124 Name of provider Pepperberry Day Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 10/10/2012 Telephone number 0151 7270083

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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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