Willow Cottage Nursery (Farmoor)

Willow Cottage Nursery (Farmoor) Willow Cottage Nursery, Oxleys Farm, Cumnor Road, Farmoor, OXFORD, OX2 9NS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/12/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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

 The nursery team provide excellent opportunities for children to learn across all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage, both indoors and outdoors.  Staff teaching of literacy skills is exceptional and enables children to be well prepared for their move to school.  Staff's use of the assessment process is highly effective in involving parents to ensure accurate tracking of children's progress.  The nursery team promote children's awareness of healthy living and a healthy diet exceptionally well and this has a significant impact on children's well-being  The partnerships with parents is extremely well developed and provides children with excellent support both in the nursery and at home.  The leadership and management team is highly effective in supporting the whole staff team so that children's needs are consistently well met.

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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 observed children during indoor and outdoor activities.  The inspector spoke to staff, parents and to children.  The inspector interviewed the manager.  The inspector and the manager carried out a joint observation.  The inspector reviewed planning and assessment documents.

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Information about the setting

Willow Cottage Nursery (Farmoor) opened at this site in 1996 and re-registered in 2013 as a private limited company. The nursery is situated at Oxley's Farm, Farmoor, on the outskirts of Oxford. It is one of two privately owned nurseries located in Oxfordshire operating from a purpose-built, single storey building and converted bungalow. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 91 children on roll in the early years age range. All children share access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The staff are experienced in supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery operates weekdays from 7.40am until 5.45pm for 51 weeks of the year. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged three and four. The nursery employs 30 staff, of whom all hold relevant qualifications for their roles.

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

 enhance opportunities for all children to consistently pursue activities to their satisfaction.

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who attend

Staff provide all children with an exceptional range of activities. These are highly supportive of their learning in all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The organisation of all areas within the nursery and kindergarten is excellent. Home-like routines help babies settle and school-like routines help older children prepare for their move on to school. Staff create a highly stimulating indoor and outdoor learning programme. This enables all children to spend time during the varied daily routine playing independently, in both small and large groups.

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who attend

The key person system is effective. Key persons pay meticulous attention to their key children's personal and social development. They demonstrate a secure knowledge of how children develop and develop a very close partnership with parents helps ensure that each child's individual learning and care needs are fully met. This enables each child to feel emotionally secure and be able to play confidently. The key persons provide excellent opportunities to promote their key children's communication and language development. For example, key groups meet on a daily basis for 'Ask about me' time. This is when children review and discuss with each other what they have been doing. The key person records the discussion and posts it on a display board for parents to read. This enables parents to be involved in later discussions and creates a significant link between the cohesiveness of children's learning both at nursery and the child's home.

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who attend

Staff provide children with unlimited opportunities to support their physical development. Spacious indoor and outdoor areas enable all children to move freely and use their bodies to develop their play. For example, indoors toddlers hold onto the backs of chairs to steady their balance as they independently reach for puzzles. Outdoors, older children turn over logs as they search for bugs inside a play den. Staff develop rich opportunities to teach children literacy skills from the beginning. For example, babies routinely enjoy handling books and playing with puppets to give them an awareness of spoken and written words. On a daily basis staff use a literacy programme that teaches children letters and sounds through games. Staff use the well-stocked writing area to challenge children to further develop their emerging literacy skills. This enables them to 'write' messages on whiteboards with marker pens. Parents report that their children are considered to have

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who attend

excellent literacy skills when they move on to school. Staff make full use of exciting teaching opportunities to explore mathematics with children. For example, children weigh ingredients as they make mince pies supporting their understanding of weight and measure. In addition, staff ask children to guess how many legs the centipede has when children mini-beast hunt and thereby developing their awareness of quantity.

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who attend

The provision for understanding the world is inspiring. For example, staff teach children through using their senses and solving problems as they feed chickens through a wire fence and enable children to grow vegetables in the summer. Staff teach children to work out when a large tyre is 'full' of leaves. These experiences all help children to develop an understanding of the environment around them. Staff foster children's creativity extremely well. For example, babies delight in finger painting and older children are intrigued as they view photographs of themselves dancing and singing at the recent nativity play on screen savers. Staff enable children to confidently use an extensive range of materials and tools to freely express their own individual ideas. Staff have made good progress in taking more account of children's individual needs and responses when planning and providing activities. Staff and parents write well-informed individual play plans that reflect children's

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who attend

play interests. These individual play plans are integrated into activities in ways that benefit each child's individual learning preferences.

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who attend

Staff use a range of highly informative assessment methods. These are used to keep parents informed about their children's progress over time. Staff accurately identify children's next steps in learning. This enables staff to continually promote children's learning and development. When necessary, staff plan focused activities that are specifically designed to narrow learning gaps. Exemplary practice is shown by staff in using an electronic tracking tool. This enables staff to effectively review and compare children's progress in their personal, social, emotional development, their communication and language skills and physically.

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who attend

Staff are skilful in providing children with timely support that is beneficial to their learning. Staff are exceptionally proactive in ensuring that children with particular needs are included and well provided for. Staff work closely with other professionals to ensure that children get the services they need. Staff collaborate thoughtfully with parents who are learning to speak English as an additional language. They ask them to provide songs, books and key words in their home languages. This ensures that their children hear their home language during the day and other children become aware of new languages. This develops children's awareness of cultural differences and other cultures.

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who attend

Staff plan children's moves from the nursery into the kindergarten and kindergarten on to school with great care. For example, the key person supports each child in their move from the nursery to the kindergarten. This is to ensure that change is gradual and does not cause upset. Staff have long-established links with local primary schools that support children's smooth transitions into reception classes. The emphasis that staff place on their personal, social and emotional development, communication skills and physical development helps children make confident moves on to their next rooms and to school.

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who attend

Staff create abundant opportunities for parents to be involved in their child's learning. For example, parents are kept well-informed about their children's developmental progress. Parents contribute ideas in discussions with the key person with regard to their children's learning needs and care routines. Parents attend consultation meetings about the re- organization of the nursery and kindergarten areas. Parents report the highest levels of satisfaction with the provision and the partnerships they have with staff. In particular, parents say how they appreciate the nurturing given by staff to each child and their family. Parents value the highly effective provision in the areas of literacy and outdoor play. The very strong input of parents is highly beneficial to children's effective learning and development.

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

Staff work extensively with parents to build each child's confidence right from when they start at the nursery. Staff deployment is highly effective and enables children to move freely and safely around the indoor and outdoor areas. This motivates children to explore and to initiate their own play by choosing the materials they wish to use. The key person is a constant presence who provides emotional security to each child. For example, the key persons demonstrate exceptional knowledge of each babies needs and how they develop and know when to offer them their individual comforters to help calm them. Older children thrive on the continuity, support and communication provided by their key person. For example, key staff enable siblings to see each other and play together during the day. This helps children feel reassured that family members are nearby.

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

Staff are highly knowledgeable about procedures to keep children safeguarded. They understand what signs to look for and know what to do if they have concerns so that children remain safe. Staff carry out thorough risk assessments on a daily basis. Indoor and outdoor environments and resources are checked for condition and safety. This is to help ensure that accidents are prevented and that children are protected from harm. Staff implement a well-balanced and flexible daily routine that takes full account of children's individual care and learning needs. Information supplied by parents is used to emulate home routines with regard to sleep times and meal times. However, not all staff always give children enough time to make gradual moves between different activities in the daily routine. This means that children are not always able to finish their play and can feel rushed between the end of one activity and the beginning of another.

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

The attention that staff give to support children's positive behaviour is exemplary. Staff spend extended periods of time modelling consistent positive behaviour to children. For example, children are taught about waiting for their turn to use the camera and using a sand-timer to share the computer. This helps children to understand that their behaviour has an impact on others around them.

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

The range of resources both indoors and outdoors is exceptional. Staff support children's play enthusiastically by enabling them to freely choose resources for themselves. The resources are stored in photograph-labelled containers, low level boxes and transparent drawers. For example, babies reach into containers to assemble simple construction toys. Older children dress up and act out stories about preparing meals for babies. This enables children to choose from an extensive array of resources that promotes their choice and decision making skills.

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

Staff promote healthy lifestyles with great commitment. Caf-style snack times honour children's independence to choose when they want to have snack. Staff effectively meet children's special dietary requirements by offering them alternatives. Water is available for children to drink whenever they are thirsty. Staff make hats available to children to protect them from the sun in summer and from the cold in winter. Staff create exciting daily opportunities for children to engage in physically active play that helps to promote their well-being. Babies play in sand pits on the canopied deck. Older children are rarely still as they ride-on toys, and run freely gathering leaves in the field.

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

A hygiene procedure is in place regarding the use of colour-coded cloths that specify where they are to be used and for what purpose. Staff support thorough hand- washing routines that help to prevent cross-contamination and reduce children's exposure to infection. Staff wear plastic shoe covers to keep the nursery area clean for babies.

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

The concern for healthy diets is exemplary. The nursery has received a Leading Aspect Award for work in food education. Staff publish healthy recipes in 'Mr Willow' books for children and the recipes are available online for parents and for other preschool to use so that information about healthy diets for children is spread. A three-week rolling menu is prepared to ensure that children eat locally-sourced seasonal food whenever possible. Meals are freshly cooked on the premises. Children and their key workers eat in relaxed family-style groups. The nutritious diet helps to ensure that children keep well and are motivated to learn.

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

Staff are enthusiastic as they encourage children to take on more self-help skills in line with their development. For example, babies crawl into cribs when they want to rest and older children progressively tend to their own needs at the toilet and as they dress to go outside. As a result, children develop a growing independence that makes them increasingly resourceful in their play and learning.

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provision

The leadership and management team is outstanding. There is a dedicated designated safeguarding person in place to ensure that staff implement safeguarding policies and procedures with rigour. The designated safeguarding person attends specialist training to keep their knowledge up-to-date and ensure that new information is effectively passed onto other staff during in-house training sessions. Staff take quizzes to ensure they have a clear understanding of required safeguarding policies and procedures. Staff are diligent in following policies that help to keep children safe and well-protected. For example, staff clearly understand the procedures they must follow in the event of a concern about a child, fire drills, accidents and administration of medicine. These policies are designed to promote children's safety and well-being. Staff carry out and record thorough daily risk assessments. These checks ensure that the indoor and outdoor environments are safe and

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provision

clean for children. Rigorous staff recruitment procedures and checks are implemented to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Staff implement a positive behaviour policy that is highly effective in promoting cooperative behaviour among children. For example, staff remind children to say 'please' and 'thank you' and to be considerate to younger children. An annual health and safety audit is undertaken to check the safety and suitability of the premises. Regular maintenance is routinely carried out to ensure the building and resources are in good repair and are safe for children.

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provision

The highly-proficient teaching and management teams are well qualified to carry out their roles and responsibilities. The abundant deployment of teaching staff, along with the back- up of management staff, enables ratios to be met and often surpassed. This ensures that staff can often give children individual attention to support their needs. A significant number of staff hold paediatric first-aid certificates which means they competently respond to children in the event of an accident or illness. Staff are provided with thought- provoking professional development opportunities that have a beneficial impact on how they teach children.

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provision

Staff are highly effective in meeting their responsibilities to plan and assess children's learning in line with Early Years Foundation Stage requirements. Extensive long, short and individual learning plans help to ensure that children's individual and collective learning needs are exceptionally well met. The assessment process is made highly effective through the involvement of parents. This enables both staff and parents to support children's progress exceptionally well. Staff record keeping regarding the administration of medicine and the recording of accidents is exceptionally thorough. This ensures that systems are in place that fully protect children and ensure parents are aware when medication is given to their children.

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provision

All staff are involved in a highly reflective self-evaluation process. This enables the whole staff team to critically examine their teaching and take positive steps to identify areas for improvement. This leads to concerted efforts to bring about change that is beneficial to children and families and is supported by all staff.

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provision

Staff work in exceptional ways to promote parent involvement in the nursery. A range of highly effective two-way communication channels operate to keep parents informed of events and issues. At the same time staff listen intently to all parent feedback. This enables parents' views regarding their child's well-being to be considered in policies and procedures. Staff develop excellent partnerships with other professionals that are highly beneficial to children. For example, professionals deliver specialist services to children while they attend the nursery. Strong links with local primary schools enable children to make settled transitions. Staff communicate with other pre-schools that children attend. These partnerships enable the effective sharing of information about children and a secure system of support to exist around them.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY464145 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 921373 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 77 Number of children on roll 91 Name of provider Willow Cottage Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01865 865206

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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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