Beckermet Nursery

Beckermet Nursery Mill Lane, BECKERMET, Cumbria, CA21 2YD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16/12/2013 20/01/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 The staffs' teaching practice is good. Children are confident learners who develop very positive attitudes to learning, are willingly to participate in a range of challenging and enjoyable learning experiences throughout the day. As a result, they make good progress in their learning.  Staff develop a close bond and secure relationship with the children in their care. They listen to their wishes and build on their interests to provide a broad and balanced curriculum for them covering all areas of their learning.  Staff provide a secure, warm and welcoming environment with low-level lighting that promotes a relaxed and homely atmosphere. This helps children to feel settled, safe and emotionally secure during their time spent at nursery.  Staff encourage all children to be physically active and provide them with a good range of healthy, nutritious meals and snacks. This successfully supports children's health and

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The manager does not formally assess and monitor staffs knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding procedures. Staff do not evaluate this training or use staff meetings to further test and demonstrate their continued understanding and knowledge of this subject.

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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 playing in the baby room, toddler area, pre-school room and outdoor play area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the manager, the staff and the children throughout the inspection.  The inspector held a meeting with the manager and completed a joint observation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents of the early years children attending the setting who were spoken to on the day of the inspection and from the written statements from questionnaires completed by parents.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

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

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Information about the setting

Beckermet Nursery opened in 2008 and is managed by voluntary committee. It operates from a designated mobile unit on a site next to Beckermet Church of England School, Beckermet, Cumbria. The nursery serves the immediate locality and also the surrounding areas. It opens five days a week from 7.30am until 5.30pm, for 50 weeks of the year. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery also operates a holiday play scheme during school holiday periods and a before and after school club for children up to 11 years of age. Children are cared for in one large playroom with a designated partitioned area for babies, additional baby room, a sleep room and breakfast room. All children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 33 children in the early years age range on roll. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports children for whom English is an additional language.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 14 staff employed at the nursery. Of these eight staff work directly with the children, who all hold an appropriate early years qualification, including the manager with BSc (Hons) in Child and Family Studies. Six of the staff have qualifications at level 3 and one at level 2. Four members of staff are working towards a qualification and two cooks are also employed. The nursery is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance and receives support from the local authority. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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

 enhance the assessment of staff's continuous professional development already in place to include a more formal approach to monitoring and evaluating their knowledge of the safeguarding procedures to ensure their continued understanding.

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who attend

Staff skilfully facilitate children's learn using good teaching strategies which support all children's learning styles. This is because staff know the children well and have a secure knowledge and understanding of how children learn and progress in their development. Staff use children's own thoughts, ideas, and interests, which ensures that they are absorbed in their activities, and are consistently engaged in purposeful play and learning. Staff plan and teach many engaging play-based activities that successfully support children's learning and development in readiness for school. For example, children's personal and social development is effectively promoted during circle and meal time routines, when children share news from home about what they have been doing with their parents. Staff encourage all children to share and take turns and to become tolerant of each other. They teach children new Christmas songs and use focused talking strategies

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who attend

linked to the 'Every Child a Talker' programme. They effectively support children's literacy development. A wide range of writing materials are provided to engage children in mark making activities and a selection of 'print' is seen in the environment which promotes their awareness of letters and words, both in English and other languages. A good selection of books are freely available for the children in all the rooms to 'read' and to help older children gain an awareness of letters and sounds. In addition the staff plan well for story time and, as a result, focused teaching methods aimed at securing children's understanding of a story, using words and rhymes, are successfully promoted. Staff know the stories that they introduce to children so they read the script clearly and enthusiastically, and skilfully question the children appropriately throughout. Staff incorporate problem-solving mathematical activities into daily routines, which result in

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who attend

children successfully counting, estimating, sorting, measuring and matching spontaneously during these events. Children explore and investigate the natural outdoor environment. This provides children with enriching sensory and physical play opportunities that enable them to understand the world around them and develop a healthy disposition for fresh air and exercise. Children have free access to an abundant array of creative materials, such as, textured materials, glue, paint and junk materials that enable children to imaginatively express their own ideas.

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who attend

Staff support children's learning by using a range of assessment methods that effectively monitor each child's progress and enable staff to provide for individual learning needs. Staff clearly record observations that accurately show each child's current achievement and capabilities and they use them to plan activities that further develop children's learning. For example, an observation of a child trying to stand up using the furniture indicated to her key person that she is almost ready to start learning to walk. So she used this assessment to provide activity walkers in the room to support this skill. As a result, the key person is supporting the next steps in this child's learning and development. Staff take photographs of children at play that also record their progress. These are used to illustrate their 'All about me' progress records. Staff invite children to add to the planning by using a 'wish list' where staff record the children's views and thought about what they

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who attend

would like to do next. Staff monitor their planning of the activities provided over a length of time to make sure that they are covering all the areas of learning through a broad and balanced curriculum. They also closely monitor all children's achievements. As a result, children make good progress in their learning and development and effectively develop the skills required for their future learning.

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who attend

Staff encourage parents' involvement in their children's learning throughout the whole time their child is at the nursery. They effectively gather information about what children already know and can do when they first register with the nursery and staff update these records as the children move from each age related section. Staff review children's progress against their expected levels of development and arrange parents meetings to discuss with them the next steps in their children's learning. The children's progress check at age two is also effectively completed when children attend from an early age. Parents are encouraged to contribute their own observations of their child's development to the learning records and through daily discussion with staff on arrival and at collection time. This helps build on the strong partnership established with parents and promotes continuity of care and learning. As a result, children are seen making good progress given

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

Staff build close and caring relationships with all the children who attend the nursery. They routinely ask for their thoughts and views about what they like and would like to do next, so the activities are based on their individual interest. These discussions help children to feel safe, secure and valued in the nursery. The nursery has generous staffing levels which means that children new to the nursery receive individual attention. This helps them to form close and secure relationships with their key person and the gradual settling in programme ensure that children are eased into the nursery routines in their own time. This therefore effectively supports children's emotional well-being. Children are very well behaved. Staff promote positive behaviour management strategies and act as good role models. This helps children to learn to respect others and to develop positive learning attitudes. Staff make sure that the resources available to all children reflect a

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

diverse world. Throughout the year they celebrate many different festivals from around the world in meaningful ways to help children understand about people's similarities and differences. Children while building their castle out of building bricks, add several small world people in to their play. As one child places 'the King' in a wheelchair, his key person asks him, why he has done this, and he responds by saying that, 'the King's legs do not work properly'. Staff encourage visits and outings in to the community and encourage daily opportunities for all children to access fresh air and exercise outdoors, which effectively promotes their physical well-being.

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

Staff promote children's healthy living and healthy lifestyles. Staff effectively model good hand washing routines with the children after they use the toilet, after messy play and before and after eating food. This helps to develop children's awareness of good hygiene routines and also minimises the risk of cross-infection in the nursery. Staff regularly clean toys and table top work surfaces using an anti-bacterial spray to keep the whole environment clean and child friendly. The cook and staff follow safe food standards to ensure that food is served in hygienic conditions so that all children stay well. Healthy snacks are provided in a semi rolling type programme where children sit in their designated eating area and enjoy a healthy snack consisting of a variety of fruit, vegetables, and bread and dairy products throughout the week. Children's independence is supported well during these times. They learn to set the table and pour their own drinks

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

from an early age. As a result, staff ensure that children are kept well-nourished and hydrated during the day and their independent skills are promoted ready for school. For example, older children use the toilet unaided, while younger children are offered support as needed. Children learn to remove their indoor shoes before going outside and help is offered by staff in putting the all-weather coveralls on and wellingtons to play outside.

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

Staff effectively organise the learning environment to maximise children's independence, choice and decision making, which enables them to take responsibility for their own learning. Staff organise the rooms so that children are kept safe and secure. They make sure that all resources are accessible because they are stored in low-level labelled storage units which children can easily reach. They plan activities to meet children's immediate interests to engage them in play. Staff display children's artwork creatively around the room so that children feel a sense of belonging. Staff also support children well with their move within the nursery and then on to school. They enable the younger children to socialise with the other children during the day. They play outside together and the toddler area is in a partitioned part of the main playroom so they can see the older children at play. Staff talk with children about their move and use books and visits to their

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

new schools to help children become familiar with their new teachers and routines. The positive and longstanding links with the adjoining primary school mean that children are already familiar with the school building, staff and routines by the time they start, if they are attending this school in the future.

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provision

The manager and all staff members have a good understanding of the learning and developments and safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Therefore, children are protected, and kept safe and secure in the nursery. Most childcare staff hold an early years qualification or are working towards one. The manager fully encourages staff to attain a higher level early years qualification and to attend regular training courses. This further supports their good understanding of how children learn and their overall practice. A consistent programme of professional development is in place for all staff. In most cases staff evaluate what they have learned and cascade this information to other staff during designated staff meetings. The staff team complete online child protection and safeguarding training, so that they are aware of what would make them concerned and what to do to ensure children are

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provision

protected from harm. Although staff complete feedback sheets after attending training courses, the manager does not use staff meetings to further discuss safeguarding to support staff's continued understanding or to show how staff have thought through how they would deal with different safeguarding scenarios. The manager maintains a wealth of policies and procedures which are regularly reviewed and updated in line with any recent changes in legislation, for example, safeguarding and the new triage process. Robust recruitment and suitability checks are completed for all child care staff in contact with the children to ensure their suitability and any staff awaiting checks do not have unsupervised access to children till these documents are seen. Staff complete a full induction and also benefit from ongoing support through regular supervision and appraisal meetings. The manager completes these to assess the staff's quality of teaching, to build on the staff's

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provision

existing strengths and to further identify any areas for development. All the required policies and procedures are in place and fully implemented by all the staff in their daily routines.

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provision

Staff ensure children's safety at all times. The whole nursery is fully enclosed with a good security and intercom system in place to prevent unauthorised entry. Staff answer the intercom and see who is arriving before opening the gates to allow them entry. Staff provide children with a well-organised and well-resourced environment which is very welcoming and the introduction of low level lighting creates a homely and relaxed atmosphere. Staff complete thorough safety checks each day and detailed risk assessment are implemented to minimise the risk of accidents or potential harm for all the areas, activities and outings children access. Staff attend regular staff meetings where they share ideas and discuss the day to day running of the establishment. They have access to ongoing training opportunities to enhance their own personal professional development which also impacts on the children by staff introducing what they have learned into the

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provision

nursery. For example, staff took part in a recent nationwide campaign promoting dental care with young children. Although teeth cleaning was already implemented by the nursery before the training, the staff took on board recent research and followed the advice to encourage children to clean their teeth after their mid afternoon snack instead of lunchtime. The manager monitors the educational programme planned by the staff using children's ideas and interests. She track's children's development effectively by monitoring the progress each child makes to ensure that any gaps in their progress are recognised early. As a result, help is obtained from other professionals, for example, speech and language therapists, in order for children to reach their full potential.

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provision

The manager and staff continually update the nursery self-evaluation document to ensure that the setting's strengths and areas for improvement are highlighted and completed effectively. Since the last inspection all previous recommendations have been completed to enhance children care and learning. Staff welcome the help advice and support they receive from the local authority and use the annual review to inform further action plans. This clearly shows the nursery's strong commitment and capacity to constantly improve. Partnership with parents is good. The committee is made up of volunteers and includes the parents of children attending the nursery. The staff involve parents in the self- evaluation process through regular verbal discussions and through the use of parental questionnaires. As a result, parents feel that their opinions and suggestions are listened to and valued by the nursery staff and committee. Parents state that they are very happy

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provision

with the service the nursery provides and how well their children are settled and have progressed in their learning since starting. They praise the staff saying that they are 'approachable and helpful', 'very professional and caring'. Staff ensure that good partnerships are formed between themselves and any other early years provision that children attend. This ensures that information is shared to promote continuity of care and learning. Parents are kept fully informed about all aspects of the nursery. This information sharing is completed in several ways, through verbal discussions with staff on arrival and collection times, through newsletters, noticeboards and displays throughout the nursery, and through emails and the nursery's own social media site.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary 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 EY382153 Local authority Cumbria Inspection number 858731

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 33 Name of provider Beckermet Nursery Committee Date of previous inspection 20/01/2009 Telephone number 01946 841941

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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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