The Old Potting Shed

The Old Potting Shed Coombe Lodge, Blagdon, North Somerset, BS40 7RE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/10/2013 26/01/2012

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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 is satisfactory

 Children benefit from the well-organised and well-equipped learning environments, particularly the in outdoor areas.  Children are happy and form secure relationships with staff. In particular, arrangements to move between rooms are managed well and help children feel secure.  Children make satisfactory progress in their learning and development, as there are sound systems in place to observe, plan and assess children's progress.

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It is not yet good because

 The providers self evaluation has not ensured that all safeguarding requirements are implemented, including keeping an accurate record of children's hours of attendance and making sure that all staff have up to date knowledge of the setting's safeguarding policy and procedures, although no child has come to harm.  Teaching in regard to the development of children's communication and language skills is not consistently good.  Staff do not make the most of chances to promote the development of personal independence in the older children, in preparation for their move to school.

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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 children at play and staff's interactions with them in all rooms and in their outside play.  The manager and the inspector completed a joint observation.  The views of parents were considered.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including learning diaries, self evaluation, policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector talked to the owners, staff and children at convenient times during the inspection.

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Information about the setting

The Old Potting Shed registered in 2011. It is privately owned by Home from School Ltd. The joint owner/managers run the nursery which operates from the 'Old Potting Shed' and 'The Stables' within the grounds of Coombe Lodge, in Blagdon, North Somerset. The Old Potting Shed is self-contained providing three playrooms for two-year-olds, pre-school children and the out of school club, a kitchen and toilet facilities. These children have access to an enclosed walled garden at the front of the property. The Stables provides babies and toddlers with three rooms, including a sleep area. These children have an enclosed area to the side of the building. There are also an office and a kitchen.

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Information about the setting

The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is open from 8am until 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, closing for two weeks at Christmas. Currently there are 45 children on roll in the early years age range. The setting is in receipt of funding for early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The owners are qualified teachers. They are supported by a deputy who has Qualified Teacher Status and eight other members of staff, of whom six have early years qualifications at level 2 or above.

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must:

 monitor all members of staff, including the lead practitioner responsible for child protection, to ensure they have up to date knowledge of safeguarding issues, so they know what to do to act in a child's best interests should they have concerns for a child's welfare

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must:

 keep an accurate daily record of the children cared for on the premises and their hours of attendance.

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must:

 improve the consistency of teaching in regard to the development of children's communication and language skills, so all staff recognise chances to do this and know how to do so

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

 extend evaluation systems, so that these better identify areas for development

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

 develop further opportunities to encourage the older children's growing independence, such as through taking on more small responsibilities, for example, at mealtimes.

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who attend

Children make sound progress in their learning in a welcoming and well-organised nursery. There are suitable systems in place to observe children's engagement in activities and to plan appropriately for their future learning. Satisfactory assessment arrangements enable staff to identify children's next steps in learning appropriately. Staff undertake the progress check for two-year-old children and share the information gained with parents. Parents are keen to provide initial information when children start at the setting, such as completing an 'All about me' form, which includes babies' individual routines. Staff are beginning to include parents' observations in their planning encouraging them to provide information of children's achievements at home, so staff can be well informed as to children's ongoing progress. Parents receive regular updates on their children's progress.

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who attend

Staff know their children well. For example, staff in the baby room are aware of children's interests and ensure toys are easily available, such as the train track. Toddlers are encouraged to link the pieces of the track together to form a circle. Staff generally give clear explanations, helping children to match words to actions, and children follow instructions well. Children are keen to flick the switches, press the buttons and push the train along the tracks developing good small muscle skills. Babies have favourite books, such as a book in the shape of a tractor with wheels. They confidently pick the book and take it to a familiar adult to read. They pay attention, pointing to the pictures and exclaiming 'daddy'. These staff acknowledge the children well and relate the pictures to children's own experiences to help their understanding. Most staff help children to develop suitable communication skills, overall. There are some missed opportunities to develop

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who attend

these skills further, however, as the quality of teaching is not consistent. Not all staff consistently provide young children with a commentary of what they are doing, for example, particularly when exploring resources in the outside area, where chances to introduce new words and extend vocabulary are sometimes missed.

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who attend

Staff make good use of their locality. Older children enjoy collecting conkers and use these in their activities while demonstrating their numerical skills. They listen well to instructions, counting out the required number of conkers to place in labelled boxes. Children count out three conkers and comment that 'one more' would make four. They compare this number to their age, showing their understanding of the connection. Staff respond well to children's ideas. For example, while waiting for younger children to finish their meals staff encourage older ones to clap out their name so that they become familiar with the rhythm. Children ask to tap out their whole name and staff respond appropriately, showing they value children's contributions.

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who attend

Children enjoy manipulating the play dough that they have made. They have the freedom to add different resources as their play develops, such as different toy vehicles. In particular, the diggers and rollers are a favourite. Children comment on what they are doing 'roll, roll, roll' and making such as, 'look biscuit'. Here, staff acknowledge children's language skills appropriately, such as 'I love your digger sounds'. Children handle tools purposefully and safely, such as the scissors, as they explore early writing skills.

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

Children are happy and settled at the nursery. Staff have developed positive and caring relationships with the children and have a sound knowledge of the children in their care. Staff have sound understanding of children's individual needs through discussions with parents; for example, they provide comfortable and suitable sleeping areas for children. Staff stay with the children soothing them to sleep and checking on them regularly. Arrangements to support children as they move between rooms are good. There is a six- week programme of regular visits to the next room so that children are familiar with their new key person and the new environment. Staff provide support to children through a secondary key person system. They use a 'handover sheet' to share necessary information with the new carer and with parents.

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

Staff provide a stimulating environment, which is well resourced. For example, in the baby room staff have carefully considered the community children live in and have developed one room to represent harvest, reflecting the farming community. Children examine real vegetables, such as carrots and pumpkins, to support their understanding. Older children have good opportunities to explore their local environment, such as weekly 'forest school' activities. There are opportunities for children to be outside and active on a daily basis. Toddlers thoroughly enjoy splashing in the puddles gaining confidence as they watch their friends. Children learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, before going on a walk into the wooded area, staff remind children about safety and expectations for good behaviour. Children know their boundaries and comment that they cannot go beyond the red flag.

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

Children enjoy the opportunity is to sit together at mealtimes. There is a varied menu, which enables children to eat healthy and nutritious meals. Babies thoroughly enjoy choosing from a selection of fruit for their snack. The cooks have considered how these are prepared to meet children's individual needs, such as cutting the banana into batons rather than circles to prevent choking. Children have opportunities to learn about where fruit and vegetables come from because they help grow their own, then pick and eat them.

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

Children become familiar with hygienic practices, such as washing their hands before they eat. Staff maintain a hygienic routine when changing nappies. They are respectful towards children and most staff talk to the children throughout. Young children's independence is encouraged. They know which is their bag and help staff find their nappies. Staff encourage children to learn self help skills, such as pulling up their own trousers after a nappy change.

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

Generally, children's independence is encouraged well in readiness for their future learning. For example, when toddlers get ready to go outside they are encouraged to match wellington boots and find their coats. However, staff do not always encourage older children to take on more responsibilities in preparation for their eventual move to school, for example, during meal times.

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provision

Overall, the staff have generally suitable working knowledge of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, there have been breaches in some specific legal requirements stemming from a lack of monitoring by the providers. They have not ensured that all the staff team have a secure understanding of how to implement the setting's safeguarding policy and procedures. For example, one member of staff was unsure of what to do in the event of an allegation being made against her. An accurate record of children's hours of attendance is not kept. However, this has limited impact on the children as there is a secondary system to acknowledge that children are at the setting, which can be used in an emergency, for outings and for regular fire drills. No child has come to harm as a result of these shortcomings.

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provision

Children are cared for in a safe and secure environment. Staff complete regular risk assessments of all areas used by the children to protect their well-being. For example, during the wet weather staff recognised a potential risk because the wooden gates had swollen and, therefore, did not close properly. The management team took prompt action to install a safety hook to keep children safe.

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provision

Children are cared for by suitably qualified and vetted staff who deploy themselves appropriately to meet the needs of the children. The management team ensures ratios are maintained. The providers ensure that a member of staff who is early years qualified to at least level 3 supervises each room. The providers support the staff team's professional development appropriately. For example, they encourage staff to share good practice during staff meetings. They have identified key areas for improvement through self- evaluation arrangements, such as developing staff and peer observations, to improve practice. The management team has appropriate understanding of the strengths of the nursery. They have developed appropriate action plans to drive improvement. For example, they are developing the outdoor space for younger ones from using observations of these children to guide the improvement. They value parents' contributions and use an

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provision

annual questionnaire to gain their views. Nevertheless, evaluation systems have not picked up weaknesses in regard to some safeguarding requirements.

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provision

There are sound systems in place to ensure that parents receive daily information about their children's routines and achievements, such as the daily communication form. They have access to all policies and procedures that underpin the service provided by the nursery. Parents comment favourably about the nursery, such as how their children are 'growing in confidence'. Suitable partnerships between the nursery, parents and other professionals mean children with special educational needs and/or disabilities appropriately, get the support required and 'action sheets' indicate how staff can provide support effectively.

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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's knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding policy and procedure so that it can be effectively implemented if a concern arises about a child (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  keep a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure staff's knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding policy and procedure so that it can be effectively implemented if a concern arises about a child (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  keep a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (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 Satisfactory Satisfactory provision is performing less well than expectations in one or more of the key areas. It requires improvement in order to be good. 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 the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be inspected again within 12 months of the date of this inspection.

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Grade Judgement Description

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 EY433944 Local authority North Somerset Inspection number 937610 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 39 Number of children on roll 100 Name of provider Home from School Ltd Date of previous inspection 26/01/2012 Telephone number 07777 692115

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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

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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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