Culverdene Day Nursery

Culverdene Day Nursery 32 Grainger Park Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE4 8SA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26/11/2013 24/07/2013

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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

 Children are motivated, keen to learn and make good progress in their development. They demonstrate positive relationships with their peers and the practitioners caring for them.  The practitioners are led by a highly committed manager. She, in turn, is supported within a strong, wider management team. This means there is a culture of continuous reflection and improvement, and children's individual needs are well met.  The management team and practitioners have a good knowledge and understanding of safeguarding procedures and practice. This helps keep children safe.  Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well cared for as staff are skilled in providing care that meets their specific needs, ensuring each child makes good progress in respect of their individual starting points.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff's skills in asking open-ended questions are variable. This means children are not consistently encouraged to build on their rapidly developing critical and creative thinking skills.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed all areas of the premises and equipment, and observed activities in all of the playrooms and the outside play areas.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of staff working within the setting, the provider's self- evaluation form and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the management team, completed a joint observation with the manager and spoke with staff and children throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day and views presented in written form.

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Information about the setting

Culverdene Day Nursery was registered in 1992 and is on the Early Years Register. It is situated in a large Victorian property in Newcastle Upon Tyne and is managed by a private provider. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 13 members of childcare staff. Of these, eight hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, and five hold higher qualifications. The manager has Early Years Professional Status. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 67 children on roll who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. It supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 enhance staff's understanding of consistent and effective open-ended questioning, so children learn to think more creatively and critically.

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who attend

The setting meets the needs of all children well. Practitioners know that children learn as they play and explore. They provide a stimulating environment that is very well resourced, and children are free to move around the rooms and explore their environment. This supports children to make good progress towards the early learning goals. For example, children independently use a computer with a large horizontal screen. This helps children learn about and practise using information and communication technology. Practitioners set up activities to encourage children to explore and investigate shredded paper as they hide objects of various sizes. In this way, children find out about exploration. This type of activity also gives practitioners opportunities to develop children's communication and language skills. Children who speak English as an additional language are well supported. Staff ensure that a range of books and resources are available in their home language,

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who attend

and liaise with parents to include various aspects of their cultures. They teach children maths, for example, they count the conkers and compare sizes and textures. They also practise handling very small objects as they look for shells and plant seeds. However, questioning skills are not consistently used throughout the setting, which lessens children's opportunities to think critically and creatively. Practitioners plan activities and experiences for children based on observations of what they like doing. For example, a group of two-year-olds explore with pasta, rice, oats, shaving foam and gel as they investigate how the items change as one is added to the other. The children very much enjoy this activity. They notice the marks they make with their hands, fingers and brushes. This helps them begin to develop skills in art and design. Older children investigate with mixing powder paints in pipettes, and talk with confidence

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who attend

how red and yellow make orange. This is an effective activity that the children enjoy.

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who attend

The detailed planning and reporting system helps practitioners to keep parents informed about their child's learning. They provide them with regular assessments of their children's progress, including the formal progress check at age two. This means parents and the setting can work closely together to ensure children make good progress in their learning and development. It also means parents and practitioners can quickly identify and provide any additional support children may require. The setting successfully works with a range of other professionals to provide for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and to progress their learning.

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

Children's behaviour throughout the nursery is very good. They share well and pass each other resources. This is because their key persons are good role models. Practitioners are effective at extending learning from indoors to outside. Staff are able to demonstrate how the outdoor activities are planned for each child with a clear learning intention and are linked to their own personal development. Practitioners encourage children to help risk assess the outdoor environment and record the results. Visitors from the police, fire brigade and ambulance service raise children's awareness of how to keep themselves safe. Children get plenty of exercise as they run about. They learn to share and take turns using the equipment. The nursery provides children with healthy food. Older children serve their own food. This extends the opportunities for them to further develop independence in self-care, express their food preferences and develop an understanding of appropriate

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

Children have very strong, supportive relationships with their key persons, which means children are confident and have a high sense of well-being. Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is a particular strength of this nursery. The manager and her practitioners skilfully support children's transitions, both within the setting and to other settings and school. Parents are actively involved in this process. Babies develop strong attachments with their key person as they snuggle in and drink their milk. Good arrangements are place for nappy changing in line with parents' preferences.

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

The environment is very well organised and offers a wealth of opportunities for children to learn and develop independently. The outdoor space is organised to ensure that older children can get vigorous exercise without endangering younger children, and in this way they learn about keeping safe. The outdoor space is well used. All children have regular opportunities to get fresh air and exercise, and can choose to go outside for most of the day.

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provision

This inspection was brought forward by Ofsted following a complaint which raised concerns relating to safeguarding, staff suitability, learning and development and partnership with parents. The inspection found that the setting fully complies with all aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The company and manager give high priority to the safety of children. There is a designated health and safety coordinator who takes responsibility for completing risk assessments, checking suitability of equipment and making sure that all staff are fully trained in health and safety policies and procedures. There are comprehensive risk assessments for all areas of the nursery, both inside and out. These are checked daily and reviewed regularly. Recruitment processes are rigorous and include an in-depth induction process. This supports new staff, ensures they know how the nursery runs and enables them to develop good practice. Staff ratios are

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provision

maintained at all times and staff are well deployed. The management team and staff have a very good knowledge and understanding of safeguarding issues and accident and incident procedures. Accident records are revised by the manager and health and safety coordinator. This system helps identify any potential risks to children. The management team ensures all staff are kept up to date with current guidance and have regular refresher training on safeguarding so they know who to report any concerns to. This helps keep children safe.

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provision

The practitioners are led by a committed manager who is supported within a strong, wider management team which regularly audits provision at all the settings. The results of these audits are shared with the rest of the staff team and action plans are set out where required. Staff meetings take place where they can share ideas and any future developments, and team meetings take place within the age groups to discuss and improve working together. A senior member of staff has the responsibility of supporting other practitioners as a training mentor. Training is identified to meet the needs of the nursery, but staff preferences and enthusiasms are also taken into account. This culture of constant reflection and improvement ensures standards of care and teaching throughout the nursery continue to improve for children and their families. Children's progress is monitored closely by each child's key person and the room leaders. The manager also

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provision

monitors practitioners' work on a daily basis. She reinforces good practice and makes suggestions to enable them to improve the way they work with children. She samples children's records monthly, and each term reviews the progress of all individual children. This enables the manager to quickly identify any additional support children may need to help them meet learning and development targets. She is also beginning to use these assessments to identify groups of children who are making less progress than others so they can target improvements for specific groups. The manager monitors the way practitioners carry out children's observations and assessments.

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provision

The nursery works very closely with a wide range of other agencies, for example, specialist teachers, to provide extra support for children. The analysis of children's progress also allows the manager to identify any extra support or training practitioners may require. The staff and management have established good relationships with parents. They ensure parents are treated with respect and that confidentiality is respected at all times. Parents are also encouraged to actively be involved with the children's learning in a variety of ways and to make suggestions to improve practice, for example, through organising breakfast sessions where children and their older siblings attend. Posters, notes, information boards and leaflets are very informative and encourage parents to extend children's learning at home. Staff are extremely successful at engaging parents in contributing to their children's assessments. They take these home on a weekly basis and

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provision

add comments from the weekend. Parents state that they feel the comments made in return demonstrate that these are used and valued by staff. The manager also takes children's views into account as they discuss their ideas, which are incorporated into the nursery's development plan.

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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 319160 Local authority Newcastle Inspection number 942103

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 54 Number of children on roll 67 Name of provider Sandra Shotton Date of previous inspection 24/07/2013 Telephone number 0191 272 3774

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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

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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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