Laindon Neighbourhood Nursery

Laindon Neighbourhood Nursery The James Hornby High School, Leinster Road, Laindon, BASILDON, Essex, SS15 5NX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 15/11/2013 22/07/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 Children are protected from harm because practitioners demonstrate knowledge of child protection procedures.  Children settle well at the nursery as established settling-in procedures ensure parents, children and key persons are involved in this process. Partnerships with parents and other professionals are secure to support the sharing of information.  Older children move freely from the indoor to the outdoor environment, giving them independence and choice in their play.

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It is not yet good because

 Risk assessments are not rigorous enough to identify and address safety issues with regard to children accessing external fire doors.  Practitioners do not follow children's learning styles. As a result, some activities are not sufficiently challenging and do not engage children's interests. Opportunities are limited for children to make choices over their learning, by freely accessing resources that promote technology and creativity.  Children whose home language is not English have few opportunities to use their home language in play, supporting their language development at home.  Leaders have not yet embedded their use of monitoring to ensure the educational programme is robust and consistently implemented, and to identify the nursery's strengths and weaknesses.

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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 the nursery rooms and garden, and viewed all areas of the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with practitioners, the manager and deputy, the special educational needs coordinator and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a range of records including children's details, information about children's learning and development, information about the suitability checks used to assess practitioner's suitability, evidence of practitioners' qualifications, written risk assessments, policies and a selection of other relevant documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to at the time of the inspection.

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Information about the setting

Laindon Neighbourhood Nursery was registered in 2004 and is on the Early Years Register. It is situated in purpose-built premises in the Basildon area of Essex, and is managed by a charity. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from two main playrooms within a children's centre building and 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, 10 of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at levels 2 and 3. The nursery opens Monday to Friday for 51 weeks of the year. Sessions are from 8am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 96 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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must:

 review risk assessments with regard to external fire doors to ensure children remain secure at all times

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must:

 when planning activities for children, ensure that practitioners reflect on the different ways that children learn. For example, provide more opportunities for children to guide their own learning, especially with regard to large group activities, technology and creative play

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must:

 provide opportunities for children to develop and use their home language in play and learning, supporting their language development at home.

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

 review systems for monitoring and evaluating the nursery to ensure that managers maintain a sharp focus on practices, ensuring that practitioners follow and implement the nursery's systems and procedures. Use their self-evaluation to effectively identify the nursery's strengths and weaknesses.

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who attend

Practitioners demonstrate some knowledge of the seven areas of learning and how children learn. Appropriate levels of support are provided to ensure children have some opportunities to make progress in their learning and development. Key persons observe children's play and use their observations to assess their stages of development, however, children's next steps in learning are not always clearly identified. Planning does not consistently offer all children challenge and is not appropriately matched to each child's learning needs. Routines within the pre-school room are too rigorous, resulting in some practitioners having unrealistic expectations of the children. For example, all children are expected to participate in large group story and singing sessions, even if they are not at an appropriate stage of development to fully benefit from this. Children are generally working within the expected development bands for their age, and those who require

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who attend

support are receiving it through outside agencies and professionals, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Parents are encouraged to become involved in their children's learning through regular verbal communication and through more formal sharing of information. They have opportunities to view information about their children's development.

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who attend

Some practitioners follow children's interests. For example, practitioners working with younger children in the baby room facilitate their play by providing music for them to dance to. They show babies how to dance and mimic their movements. This causes great enjoyment as babies wiggle and giggle around the room. Babies who are beginning to develop physical skills are provided with resources and equipment to enable them to pull themselves from a sitting to a standing position. They laugh excitedly at themselves in the low safety mirror and play contentedly alongside their peers.

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who attend

Older children in the pre-school room have some opportunities to guide their own play and learning, for example, by freely accessing the outdoor area. This enables those children who learn better in an outdoor environment to develop well. However, independence and opportunities for children to make choices about their learning are not well promoted in all areas. For example, children are not able to express themselves creatively with paints and other messy resources, as these are locked in cupboards and only provided under adult supervision. Children have some opportunities to explore technology, however, access to the nursery's computer is not consistent. The range of activities available enables children to develop some skills for school readiness, for example, they practise handwriting with a range of materials and use numbers and counting in everyday activities.

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

Children settle well into nursery life as practitioners follow the nursery's clear settling-in procedures. Parents play an active role in deciding when their children are ready to be left and provide the key person with some information about their home life, likes and dislikes. Children generally develop secure relationships with their key person. Most children behave appropriately, although large group activities are not conducive to meeting all children's needs. This results in some children becoming easily distracted and moving around the room when practitioners are trying to engage them in stories or singing sessions.

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

Children are provided with some opportunities to learn about keeping safe and healthy through the nursery's policies and procedures. They understand that it is important to wash their hands before meals and snacks and enter into some discussions about foods which are good for them. Children generally enjoy a range of meals and snacks during their nursery day, and some opportunities are provided for children to develop independence during mealtimes. Children enjoy fresh air and exercise daily, as they freely access the garden. They have opportunities to develop physical skills when they negotiate a range of physical play equipment.

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

Transitions between the baby room and older children's room are managed by key persons supporting children through this change. They visit the older room a number of times with the children and implement practices in the baby room that will prepare them for the routines in the older room. For example, while still in the baby room, older babies begin using cups without lids and some resources are placed on tables so that toddlers have opportunities to familiarise themselves with playing with resources on the floor and on tables.

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provision

Children are appropriately protected from harm as practitioners demonstrate knowledge of their responsibilities with regard to child protection procedures. Designated persons have completed appropriate training and cascade new knowledge to other practitioners. All adults working with children have been appropriately vetted and proof of their clearance checks are available for inspection. This inspection was brought forward following a concern received by Ofsted regarding an incident which happened at the nursery whereby a fire door was opened by children. There is conflicting evidence about the severity of this incident and whether a child left the premises momentarily or not. The fire door, however, has a very low and easy to open handle, which poses a safety hazard to children in the two to five year room. If a child was to leave the premises by this door, they would have a significant area of fenced ground to walk through before reaching a gap which leads to a

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provision

road. Risk assessments of this exit are not rigorous enough to ensure that this door is either made safe, or effectively monitored to ensure that children do not have easy access to it. Appropriate adult-to-child ratios are maintained, and this ensures that children are sufficiently supervised.

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provision

Managers conduct some monitoring of the educational provision, to ensure that all seven areas of learning are being covered in planning. However, systems are not robust and do not enable managers to maintain a sharp focus on practices within the nursery. For example, observations of the lunchtime arrangements do not match managers' explanations of the procedures which should be being followed. While a self-evaluation process is in place, this does not effectively identify the nursery's strengths and weaknesses or always reflect what is happening in practice. The nursery deputy supervises practitioners on a regular basis, and meetings provide opportunities for discussions about individual children and the practitioners' working practices. Annual appraisals are in place, providing opportunities for practitioners to guide their own professional development and to discuss future training needs.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are secure. Parents spoken to at the time of the inspection comment on the way in which their children are making progress. Many comment on the support their family receives from the nursery and feel that early identification of issues, such as speech delay, has helped to close gaps in their children's learning and development. The nursery has close links with other professionals and works effectively with support practitioners from the local children's centre, whose site they share. Transitions for children moving from the nursery to school are promoted through effective communication.

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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 EY284577 Local authority Essex Inspection number 942941

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 50 Number of children on roll 96 Name of provider Pre-School Learning Alliance Date of previous inspection 22/07/2013 Telephone number 01268 411844

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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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