Humpty Dumpty's Kindergarden

Humpty Dumpty's Kindergarden The Barn, Fir Covert Road, NORWICH, Norfolk, NR8 6HT

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/11/2013 14/08/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 3 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 requires improvement

 Children are confident and show good levels of independence, as a result of effective staff practice. They receive nurturing care and encouragement to explore their environment and engage in varied activities, which appropriately supports their learning and development.  Partnerships with parents are well fostered, as staff work hard to settle children, form strong bonds and ensure there is a joint approach to children's care and learning.  Children are safeguarded as staff have a secure understanding of the procedures to follow if they have concerns. Staff are vigilant in identifying and minimising any potential risks to children and help children learn to manage their own safety.

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It is not yet good because

 Staff do not consistently evaluate their observations of children in order to identify and track where children are in their developmental pathway, to effectively plan what they need to do to support individual children's continued progress in their learning.  Staff development and professional support is not consistently planned through regular supervision and appraisals, to support the necessary improvements to teaching.  On occasions, some staff lack the confidence and skills to fully extend or break down activities to challenge more able children and further enhance all children's learning experiences.

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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 observed activities in both playrooms and the outside learning environment.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the owner/manager.  The inspector held a meeting with the owner/manager of the provision.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with children, the provider's self-evaluation form and improvement plan.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day and from information included in the setting's own parent survey.

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Information about the setting

Humpty Dumpty's Kindergarden was registered in 2011 on the Early Years Register. It operates from premises in Taverham, Norfolk. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery is privately owned and managed. It serves the local area and is accessible to all children.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is open Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6pm all year round, with the exception of bank holidays and a week at Christmas. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 55 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for 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.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs seven members of childcare staff. The owner, who is also the manager, has an early years degree. Four staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level three or above, one at level two and one is unqualified.

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must:

 raise the quality of teaching by ensuring that staff consistently evaluate their assessments of children, in order to track their progress and identify any gaps in learning, so that staff can more effectively plan activities and learning experiences for each child's learning needs

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must:

 improve the performance management and monitoring systems, to ensure the quality of teaching by all staff is consistently monitored and the information used to shape individual staff members professional development

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must:

 ensure that all staff have the skills to adapt activities effectively, so these are challenging but achievable for all children but particularly the more able in the group, and that there are consistently high expectations of what children can achieve.

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who attend

The owner and senior staff team have a sound understanding of the learning and development requirements and provide appropriate role models for those staff who are still developing their skills and knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage. As a result, while improvements are being made, teaching is still variable and so some aspects of the quality of teaching in the setting require improvement. Staff recognise that children learn through play and provide a warm and welcoming environment where children feel confident and secure. Children's starting points are suitably assessed as they settle into the nursery, through discussion with parents and early observations, so staff get to know the children's capabilities and can provide activities which help children to settle quickly. The key person regularly observes children during their play, noting their progress and emerging interests. This means staff get to know the children and are able to plan

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who attend

activities which they know children will enjoy. For example, toddlers interested in filling and transporting are provided with large trays containing different materials, such as sand or cornflakes and various containers, which stimulates their curiosity to explore this further. Toddlers follow their own ideas, finding shells from the sensory area to fill with the cornflakes and staff model experimenting by encouraging young children to watch as they tip the cornflakes out of the different containers. Consequently, younger children are beginning to learn through first-hand experiences. Staff are beginning to encourage older children to steer their own learning, by allowing them to choose their own activities. However, on a few occasions some of the less experienced staff lack the confidence to extend these activities, to fully challenge the more competent children to take the initiative or help them to extend and develop their ideas. On these few occasions, children's

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who attend

learning is, therefore, not maximised. Children's learning journey records give a useful pictorial record of their time in the nursery, and staff are beginning to use their observations more effectively to assess children's progress against their starting points. However, these assessments are not yet consistently used to track children's progress over time, so that any gaps in learning can be quickly identified and activities tailored to individual children's learning needs. Despite this, children are making appropriate progress in their learning and development. Staff appropriately implement interventions if necessary, to support children who have English as an additional language or those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff across the nursery engage parents in their children's development in the setting and at home. They encourage them to share what they know about their children and this is added to children's assessment records.

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who attend

The learning journey records are shared with parents to keep them informed about their children's achievements and parents comment that they have enjoyed taking these home and to share with extended family members.

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who attend

Older children express themselves confidently. They chatter to each other while they are playing, for example, they take bowls of glitter to add to the play dough to make soup and potions, talking about what they are doing and sharing their imaginative ideas. Staff initiate some conversations, for example, around the snack table when children happily talk about their family or the activities they have enjoyed during the morning. Staff prompt children to recall what they saw when exploring in the garden, naming the insects they find and appropriately using these opportunities to help develop children's vocabulary. Staff generally ask open-ended questions, which suitably encourage older children to think and share what they already know. For example, they comment on the number of legs spiders have or the shape of worms as staff encourage them to draw insects. Materials for making marks are readily available, both indoors and outside.

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who attend

Children understand that print carries meaning and older children attempt to write their name on their artwork. Children draw patterns, shapes and create their own pictures using glue and glitter. Consequently, children's hand and eye coordination is suitably promoted as they learn to use pencils, glue sticks or brushes with increasing skill. Children are exposed to simple mathematical language as they engage in activities with the staff. Older children know the names of some shapes and colours, and are learning to count and match the number to quantity correctly. Children use their imagination and are creative. They mould and cut dough, making hills for their small cars or cakes and pancakes, which they pretend to share with their friends. Children are learning to share resources, for example, as staff encourage children to give a piece of dough to new children joining the activity. The satisfactory progress of older children ensures that they have an appropriate

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who attend

range of key skills needed for the next steps in their learning and the eventual move onto school.

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who attend

Consistent routines are followed that help children develop in confidence and reassure children who are settling. Children enjoy an appropriate balance of free play and group adult-led activities. They are able to move freely into to the outdoor area throughout the day, which provides an additional choice of age-appropriate experiences and enables children of different ages to mix and play together. Babies are cared for in a bright and cosy room. They have easy access to an interesting selection of resources that are stored at their level. Babies are appropriately supported by staff who generally sit alongside them on the floor and share their experiences. Babies enjoy looking at themselves in mirrors and explore a variety of sensory materials, such as brightly coloured fabrics, natural materials, shiny objects and different textures. They smile and sway as staff sing rhymes, which the slightly older children join in, copying the actions. Bonds are developed as the

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who attend

key person takes on the majority of a baby's personal care. They sit comfortably, cradling the baby while settling to sleep or helping to feed younger children. Babies choose to sit on staff members laps and go to them for a cuddle when tired or needing a little extra support.

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

From a young age, children are learning to be independent in their self-care. They find their own coats and boots for outdoor play and are appropriately assisted by the staff to dress themselves. Children help themselves to drinks, with older children carefully learning to pour water from the jug available. They select resources they would like to play with from the age-appropriate range available and generally pursue their own interests. Children choose when to play outside or have their snack. Consequently, children are learning to make decisions and are becoming confident and independent. Staff encourage children to develop an understanding of healthy lifestyles. For example, children know they need to wash their hands before meals and learn good practices for wiping their nose and disposing of tissues. Staff effectively support children who have special dietary requirements, liaising with parents to ensure that children's individual dietary needs are

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

met. Meals are freshly prepared on site each day and are healthy and nutritious. Mealtimes are social occasions with children sitting in small groups with a member of staff. This ensures that children get the support they need to feed themselves and staff are able to encourage children to try a variety of foods. Snack-times have been developed since the last inspection, with a snack-bar now provided. Children help themselves, spread butter or jam on their crumpet, are encouraged to pour their choice of drink and are supported to clear away after themselves. Consequently, they are learning key self-help skills, which suitably supports their preparation for school. Babies routines are respected. Children are settled to sleep as they become tired, with babies settled into cosy nests and younger children cuddling up on small mattresses. Staff attach great importance to the children being outside and from a young age, children enjoy and benefit from fresh air.

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

Older children energetically ride small wheeled toys, run freely and test their balance as they step along the log line. Throughout the nursery, children appropriately learn how to keep themselves safe due to the gentle reminders from staff not to run indoors or for younger children not to climb on chairs.

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

Children are cared for in group rooms according to their age and needs. Arrangements to help children settle into the nursery and build secure attachments with their carers are a strength of this nursery. Successful implementation of the key person system ensures children feel safe and secure in the setting. Where children are less confident, their key person supports them in separating from parents, but maintains close contact with parents regarding children's emotions. Therefore, parents manage their children's settling-in alongside the staff. The key person also effectively supports children as they move from one room to the next within the nursery, through planned visits, which enable the outgoing key person and the parents to liaise with the new key person. In this way, important information is exchanged and children make an easier transition as a result. Furthermore, there are times during the daily routine where the groups of children mix,

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

such as time spent outdoors or during breakfast and teatime. This enables siblings to spend time together during the day and for older children to learn and consider the needs of the younger ones. Transitions into school are supported by staff, who are beginning to build links with the local schools.

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

Children benefit from the stimulating, welcoming environment and appropriate care they receive. They make friends and are encouraged to share, be kind and show respect for one another. Staff suitably promote children's good behaviour, confidence and self-esteem by praising them and recognising their achievements. Staff model good social manners, ensuring children use 'please' and 'thank you'. Therefore, children learn to be polite when talking to staff and each other. Any unwanted behaviour is managed by staff using a more consistent approach and taking into account children's age and level of understanding. The nursery is inclusive and children learn to respect and celebrate each other's differences.

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provision

The owner/manager demonstrates a strong commitment to improve the nursery provision. Since the last inspection, the manager has worked hard with the staff team and in close liaison with the local authority, to take positive action to improve aspects of the provision. In recent months she has recruited well qualified and experienced staff to senior positions, who are now able to role model good practice and mentor less confident and experienced staff. Furthermore, she has arranged in-house training for all staff on aspects of practice, such as behaviour management, observation, assessment and planning, so that a more consistent approach is used across the nursery. These actions mean that, over time, and once the new systems have had time to embed into everyday practice, the quality of the teaching and the planning of activities will improve, in order to more effectively support children's progress. Following self-evaluation, the manager has put an action plan in place,

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provision

which will support further development of the provision. This includes plans to redesign areas of the outdoor environment so that the provision for babies is more suitable and all children benefit from the enhanced experiences, such as the mud kitchen and growing areas. Parents have been involved in this process and have provided their valuable feedback, which has been carefully considered when making changes. The manager has been instrumental in creating a 'roots and fruits tree' display in the entrance area. This shows photographs of the staff with details of their qualifications and interests at the roots, photos of activities provided within the setting, linked to the aspects of learning as part of the growing trunk and photos of the children with annotated comments about what they enjoy in the nursery displayed in the branches. This provides valuable pictorial information for parents about the curriculum and learning opportunities and values the

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provision

Management and staff understand their responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements. For example, they have a suitable awareness of the signs and symptoms of abuse, to help them recognise when children may be a risk. Staff know how to report concerns and know who is the person designated to take responsibility for child protection concerns. The manager has taken appropriate action regarding a recent notification to Ofsted about a safeguarding concern. Effective recruitment practices ensure that staff are suitably vetted and qualified for their roles, although some staff in the team are more confident and experienced than others. The owner/manager carries out some observations of staff practice and provides developmental feedback as part of monitoring and performance management. However, to date these have not been regular enough to impact on the quality of teaching overall. Furthermore, the systems for checking the

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provision

progress of the children within the setting are still at an early stage of development and have not been in place long enough to demonstrate good progress for all groups of children.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are effective as the nursery is committed to working together with them, to ensure the continuity of care and learning for children. They are kept appropriately well informed, both by written information, particularly for babies, and daily verbal communication. Those spoken to speak very highly of the support they receive from staff, the quality of the information provided, how well they are involved in their children's learning and, most importantly, that their children are happy and developing while attending the nursery. Partnerships with others who provide care and learning are established and information shared appropriately between settings to meet children's needs. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified promptly and links are made with other professionals, as appropriate. This helps to secure any additional support that children might need to help them make satisfactory progress in

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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 EY429172 Local authority Norfolk Inspection number 939652

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 33 Number of children on roll 55 Name of provider Humpty Dumpty Kindergarden Limited Date of previous inspection 14/08/2013 Telephone number 07883 872001

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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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