Wendy House Nursery (Carlisle) Limited

Wendy House Nursery (Carlisle) Limited Blackwell Road, CARLISLE, Cumbria, CA2 4AB

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25/09/2013 06/10/2011

p.1

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

p.1

This provision is outstanding

 The manager and staff team's enthusiasm and high expectations highly motivates all children to fully engage in their learning and consistently nurtures their interest and inquisitiveness. As a result, children develop an excellent disposition to learning, which provides a solid foundation to support their future skills.  Children are exceptionally well cared for by highly skilled key persons who are sensitive to their needs and form secure attachments. As a result, children feel safe and secure and are effectively supported to make excellent progress in relation to their starting points.  The leadership is inspirational. The manager has a clear vision for the nursery's continued development and constantly monitors and reviews the high quality of the provision. This ensures that improvements are continuously made to continue to provide a truly inspiring learning environment for the children.  Transitions into new rooms or learning situations are exceptionally well managed to

p.1

This provision is outstanding

support children's emotional well-being and feelings of self-confidence. Therefore, they accept change and settle very easily.  The excellent partnerships with parents, external agencies and other providers are highly effective and significantly contribute to ensuring children's needs are quickly identified and intervention is swiftly secured when required.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children playing in the bunnies room, ducklings room, foxes room, squirrels room, owls room and the garden play areas.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the manager, the staff and the children throughout the inspection.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the manager, deputy and one of the joint owners of the nursery.

p.2

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.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager at teatime.

p.2

Inspection activities

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

p.2

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.

p.2

Information about the setting

Wendy House Nursery (Carlisle) Limited was registered in 1998 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a detached house in the Blackwell Road area of Carlisle, Cumbria, and is privately owned. The nursery serves Carlisle and the wider geographical area and is accessible to all children. It operates from within 10 rooms in a detached house and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play.

p.3

Information about the setting

The nursery employs 30 members of childcare staff. Of these, five hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and 25 at level 3. There are two staff members who hold early years qualifications at level 4 and level 6. The nursery opens Monday to Friday for 51 weeks of the year from 7.30am to 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions.

p.3

Information about the setting

There are currently 146 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

p.3

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

 continue to develop the use of children's home languages and visual images throughout the nursery to continue to support children's growing awareness of diversity of the world around them.

p.3

who attend

Children thrive and are highly motivated to learn in this truly inspiring day nursery. Staff demonstrate excellent skills and knowledge of the learning and development requirements and have a superb understanding of how children learn. The enthusiasm and the staff's high expectations highly motivate the children to fully engage in their learning. Their interest and inquisitiveness is constantly nurtured and promoted and as a result of this all children develop an excellent disposition to learning, which provides a very solid foundation upon which to support all their future learning and development. The highly stimulating and extremely well-organised indoor and outdoor environment ensures that children investigate and explore an extensive and wide variety of experiences for themselves. Therefore, children consistently demonstrate the characteristics of effective learning as they play. There is an extremely sharp focus by staff on helping children to

p.3

who attend

acquire communication and language skills and supporting physical, personal, social and emotional development. As a result, children are exceptionally well prepared for school and their next stage of learning.

p.4

who attend

Staff use the unique facilities throughout the nursery extremely well to promote children's learning. The layout is particularly good, both internally and externally and there is an abundance of stimulating, high quality resources and natural materials. Staff use these well, to enable every child to follow their own interests, to work at their own pace, and to support them to reach their full potential. The staff have an excellent understanding of how children learn and work exceptionally well in partnership with parents. This leads to an excellent understanding of each child's individual needs. Children's records are precisely maintained and planning effectively supports children's interests and their next steps. The inspirational leadership and the staff's passion for their own development underpin the educational programme. As a result, the staff use successful monitoring and assessment tools, and teaching strategies. For example, the staff follow the 'Every child a

p.4

who attend

talker' (ECAT) programme, to support children's communication and language skills. This is especially effective in supporting children with English as an additional language and identifying early intervention and referrals to the speech and language team. The use of children's home language is valued and the staff have attended specific training to help develop their expertise further when working with these children and their parents. Staff encourage parents to share special words that are significant to their child and create picture routines in their designated rooms. Children celebrate a variety of festivals and cultural celebrations throughout the year and these are reflective of children's cultural backgrounds. This allows children to learn about different customs and celebrations of their friends attending nursery. There is scope to further develop the use of children's home language by enhancing communication and language skills through the use of dual

p.4

who attend

language signs and labels and increasing the visual images that represent the diversity of the world.

p.4

who attend

Teaching is extremely effective. Staff are highly skilled and enthusiastically plan the learning programme by utilising the information gathered from parents on entry to the setting and into each individual room. Staff gather a wealth of information of every child's needs and future needs. All children are making very rapid progress towards the early learning goals, given their age and starting points. Staff are highly skilled and have an excellent understanding of how children learn. They are exceptional in supporting children's progress. The robust assessment and monitoring completed throughout the nursery enable staff to clearly identify children's excellent progress across all areas of learning. They identify key strengths and specific target areas required for improvement. Staff ensure that any children at risk of delay have their special educational needs and/or disabilities identified swiftly. This enables the nursery to refer children to specialist help to

p.4

who attend

gain effective support. Staff constantly engage with the children by asking them challenging questions, which support and extend their learning and encourage them to problem solve and think critically. Children learn how to do things for themselves. For example, the children collect their own cutlery and utensils to set their own place at the table and serve their own drinks at meal times. This promotes high levels of self-esteem and independence in self-help skills. Children play with a balance of manufactured activity toys and textured natural open-ended play materials which allow them to explore and investigate using their developing senses. They use building blocks which helps them to learn about colour, shape, number and construction. Children connect train tracks and road systems using their thinking skills to problem solve and cooperate with each other on how to fix them together. The younger children enjoy painting and drawing activities

p.4

who attend

sitting together at tables in low-level chairs and experiencing an extensive selection of writing materials, such as, chalk, crayons, paint and pencils. As a result, they experience numerous ways to be creative and express themselves. Motivational book and role-play areas allow children to act out real life situations and encourage imagination. For example, a recent hospital stay by a child prompted the staff to create a hospital scene in the role- play area so children can act out their life experiences and staff can reassure others through discussions about hospital visits and the people who help them get better. Staff encourage children to use numerous information and communication technology resources, such as computers with age-appropriate educational programmes and voice recording equipment which are accessible in the innovative 'communication cottage' outside. As a result, children develop excellent early skills in technology which links into

p.5

who attend

their communication and language development and other areas of their learning.

p.5

who attend

The highly effective partnership with parents and carers promotes children's continued learning and development and reinforces children's learning at home. Parents feel very involved in their child's education. The 'wow moment' tree displayed in each room contain various observations that the parents have carried out with their children at home and there are many examples of positive parental feedback. For example, parents use 'what happened at the weekend' sheets and the take home toy diary shows a detailed record of what children do with parents at weekends and holiday times. Relationships between staff and parents and carers are exemplary and make a highly innovative contribution to meeting all children's needs. Staff have a strong caring ethos where they listen to the children and their parents and act on what they say. Parents chat together on a daily basis either on arrival or at collection times to share what children do and remain interested in,

p.5

who attend

so staff can incorporate it into the planning. Parents contribute to learning records and diary entries and they also contribute their thoughts and ideas to the nursery evaluation systems. Staff are fully aware of their role in completing the 'progress check at age two'. They share the learning outcomes and reports with parents to demonstrate the areas staff are currently working on with their child to support their learning and development further. As a result, excellent relationships are actively contributing to running of the nursery and children's learning and progression.

p.5

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

Children's care and well-being is at the centre of everything the staff do and, as a result of this and their excellent partnership with parents, children settle quickly on entry and within subsequent moves from room to room. Children are happy, smiling and engage well with staff throughout the nursery both indoors and outdoors. They are extremely confident in both their relationships with the staff and each other. Children's behaviour during the inspection is exemplary; they listen attentively to the staff and work with and care for others really well. They understand the ground rules and how they are implemented to help keep them safe. For example, when a child climbs over several chairs at once in the computer room the staff member gently reminds him to be careful and asks him what will happen if he continues to do this. The child quickly responds by answering what might happen to him so he gains an awareness of the danger he could face. This

p.5

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

results in children developing a secure understanding and awareness of safety, assessing risk and the resulting consequence of their actions. Staff consistently praise and encourage children's good behaviour and recognise their achievements by displaying their artwork and photographs in all the rooms and nursery reception areas. This supports children's sense of belonging so that they feel really good about themselves and feel welcome and secure.

p.6

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

Children are supervised exceptionally well during the inspection because adult:child ratios are exceeded throughout the nursery. Staff deploy themselves well so that children are supervised effectively and remain within sight and hearing at all times both indoors and outdoors. Staff have made significant improvements over time to the outdoor area to ensure children play in a safe, exciting, interesting and stimulating, natural well- maintained play area. They can no longer access an area with restricted viewing when staff move around the spacious grounds with the children, therefore, children are within view at all times. The outdoor play area has an extensive selection of resources that successfully promote and enhance the children's physical development. Children play with wheeled toys and pedal bikes around a designated tarmac area. They run around the grounds or sit quietly talking to staff on logs and seating around the garden. Children use

p.6

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

their imagination pretending to travel on the wooden train to the seaside and digging in the sand at the beach then swimming in the sea. Climbing frames, slides, tunnels and digging areas provide ample opportunities for children to develop their physical skills and their natural urges to explore investigate and take calculated risks in safety. Staff know exactly when to intervene and when to leave children to their own devices in their play. For example, when two children would like to play with the same pram the member of staff waits and watches close by as the two children decide which one of them pushes first and then the other has a go. Both hold onto the pram at the same time but compromise by taking turns. Staff demonstrate a secure understanding of how to manage challenging behaviour as and when it may arise with any of the children and clearly explain how some children may need extra supervision at times. The staff constantly monitor and check the

p.6

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

environment and detailed risk assessments are meticulously maintained to continue to promote children's safety, well-being and independence. Children enjoy visits from firefighters and the local police. They learn about the dangers of fire and how to say no to strangers. Staff implement regular fire evacuation procedures with the children to ensure everyone knows what to do in an emergency situation.

p.6

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

The nursery is kept extremely clean and there are many examples of high standards of health and hygiene. For instance, nappy changing areas are cleaned after each nappy change, free from hazards and staff wear aprons and gloves to change children. The kitchen is scrupulously clean and excellently maintained. The cook holds a food hygiene certificate and the nursery has gained a five star rating. Children enjoy healthy freshly prepared home-made meals following a balance diet and which recognises all children's dietary needs and preferences. They enjoy different tastes and enthusiastically shout out when their pudding arrives. Children display an excellent knowledge of how to keep healthy as they spend lots of time outdoors in the fresh air. They grow their own vegetables and herbs in growing and sensory area in the garden and enjoy planting, harvesting, and eventually eating what they have grown. Children throughout the nursery

p.6

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

rooms follow stringent hygiene practices. Staff ask all visitors to the younger children's rooms to remove their outdoor footwear so that dirt is not transferred to the floor where babies crawl about. Older children learn about keeping healthy and understand why they must wash their hands. They visit the toilet independently with staff on hand to supervise and praise their growing independence and skills. Children also competently wash their hands in the main rooms after completing their painting or craft activity. They know that if they knock over something the paper towels are on the worktop ready for them to clean up any spillages and they help themselves to tissues to wipe their nose.

p.7

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

Policies and procedures to maintain children's safety are exceptionally well implemented. Staff maintain well-stocked first-aid kits in every room in the nursery and staff attend paediatric first-aid training, therefore, their emergency skills remain up to date. Children wear sunscreen and hats when it is hot, and help themselves to accessible jugs of water when they become thirsty. In wet weather staff provide children with all weather suits and wellington boots. Therefore, children access the outdoor environment in all weathers so they experience plenty of fresh air and exercise all year round. Staff meticulously maintain children's medical records and children's contact details are kept up to date. Staff are made fully aware of any children with any specific needs and care plans. The key person system is exceptional. It plays a critical role in promoting children's excellent progress, learning and emotional security and is highly effective and well embedded. As a result,

p.7

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

children form secure, emotional attachments with their key person and this provides a strong base for their personal, social and emotional development. Children select resources independently and learn to plan and initiate their own learning as they explore the high quality resources and activities provided. As a result, children learn the dispositions, attitudes and skills they need for future learning. Children are well settled in the nursery because staff have an excellent understanding of their needs through 'All about me' information provided by parents on entry to the setting and updated when moving from room to room. Younger children confidently seek reassurance and support from staff if they need help or comfort. This helps them to support children through their major milestones, learning and transitions, both within the nursery and in their transition to school.

p.7

provision

Documentation is meticulously maintained to a very high standard and all records required for the safe and efficient management of the setting are readily available. The manager maintains a highly comprehensive range of written policies and procedures. These are regularly updated to reflect changes in legislation and to clearly underpin the nursery's continued high quality practice. All staff have a very strong understanding of child protection and how to safeguard the children in their care. All safeguarding requirements are met effectively. Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures are consistently known by all staff so they understand clearly what they must do if they are concerned about any child in their care. Staff record all accidents, incidents and injuries sustained at the nursery, inform parents, and monitor injuries to ensure patterns are not forming in any areas of the environment or with particular children. Staff also complete body maps for

p.7

provision

existing injuries and keep them confidentially stored after discussing fully with parents. Robust risk assessments are in place for all areas used by the children and for all outings the children undertake. Children are extremely well supervised across all areas of the nursery. As a result, children's safety is considered as a high priority at all times.

p.8

provision

Leadership is inspirational and self-evaluation is rigorous. There is a strong emphasis on maintaining the high levels of achievement for all children. Strengths and weaknesses are clearly identified and targeted improvement plans are in place to secure continuous improvement. The process for self-evaluation within the nursery incorporates the views of staff, children and parents and carers. The staff team share a vision to provide an excellent service for the children and their families. As a result, they continue to make a positive difference to their lives. Staff continue to be highly motivated in their continuous professional development and are continually seeking ways to improve their own learning and effectively transfer what they learn to improve the outcomes for children. Effective systems are in place to enable staff to continually evaluate their practice. This is achieved through discussions during staff meetings, parent surveys and in the welcoming, open

p.8

provision

door policy implemented by the manager. The high quality systems for professional supervisions, staff observations, staff's appraisals and discussions during meetings with the manager, owners and the early years advisor ensure that the high quality of the nursery provision is maintained. Recommendations and advice is taken on board by the manager to improve the nursery. For example, the early years adviser has asked the manager to consider toning down the colourful environment in all of the rooms. So the nursery is in full refurbishment to re-position the displays and incorporate more natural tones and materials, such as hessian backed display boards. As a result, the nursery is highly responsive to its users and continually making improvements to an already outstanding setting.

p.8

provision

Staff effectively promote excellent communication systems that ensure that parents are kept fully informed of their children's progress. Photographs and informative displays cover the walls in hallways and reception areas. These illustrate the extensiveness of the activities that children are actively involved in during their time at the nursery. These displays are also accompanied by explanations relating to how children learn. Parents contribute extensively to the initial assessment of their child's starting points on entry. This continues throughout the nursery rooms where staff work exceptionally closely in partnership with all parents who regularly share information with them about what their child has done at home. This is used exceedingly well by staff to enhance each child's individual needs. Staff complete detailed developmental records about the children so parents can see the excellent progress they are making. Detailed daily sheets in the

p.8

provision

younger children's rooms allow the parents to see what the children have been doing during the day and provide continuity of care and welfare routines. Parents are highly complimentary about the fantastic service the nursery provides for them and the flexibility or the service offered to them. Staff work extremely closely with the other professionals working with the children, for example, speech and language therapists. They follow the advice of these professionals to continue to support the children with their learning and development and to further enhance the children's welfare in the nursery. Interventions are secured at the earliest point possible because highly effective monitoring and tracking of all the children identifies swiftly any child in any room who may be falling behind their peers or below their expected achievements. This results in children's needs being met effectively and relevant support services becoming involved. Children are extremely well

p.8

provision

prepared for their next stage in learning and well prepared for their transition to school. Targeted learning programmes and children's development is shared with other providers. As a result, there is consistent, secure support for children with any special educational needs and/or disabilities and this ensures that no child is disadvantaged.

p.9

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

p.9

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.11

Setting details

Unique reference number 317413 Local authority Cumbria Inspection number 937113

p.11

Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 101 Number of children on roll 146 Name of provider Wendy House Nursery (Carlisle) Limited Date of previous inspection 06/10/2011 Telephone number 01228 402 102

p.11

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.

p.11

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.11

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.

p.11

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.

p.11

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.

p.12

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,

p.12

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’.

p.13

Type of provision

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

p.13