Fellowship of St Nicholas - Greenway

Fellowship of St Nicholas - Greenway 2 Waterworks Cottages, Waterworks Road, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 1RU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/12/2013 05/07/2012

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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

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This provision is outstanding

 The nursery builds excellent partnerships with parents, which means that children have highly consistent care for their learning and development.  Staff have an exemplary knowledge and understanding of how children learn, and how to interest and challenge them. This helps children make rapid progress in learning.  Children can be highly independent, active learners in this extremely well organised learning environment.  Staff have excellent behaviour management skills, giving children clear, simple guidance and giving them the ability to learn self-control and social skills.  Managers and senior managers set ambitious targets based on shared evaluation and an outstanding commitment to improving the lives of families in their community.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children at play in their playrooms and outside.  The inspector and manager carried out a joint observation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector met with the manager and the head of early years to discuss safeguarding and other management issues.  The inspector sampled a range of documentation.

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Information about the setting

Fellowship of St Nicholas - Greenway registered in 2006. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.It is one of three nurseries run by the Fellowship of St Nicholas charity. It operates from a purpose-built building based in the Hastings Children's Centre, in East Sussex. Children have access to enclosed outdoor play areas.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm for 48 weeks of the year. There are currently 76 children attending in the early years age range.. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children learning English as an additional language. There are 11 members of staff, ten of whom work directly with children. Nine staff have appropriate early years qualifications to level 3 The nursery receives regular Qualified Teacher Status support. The nursery provides funded free early education for children aged two-, three- and four- years.

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

 enhance children's independence and self-care skills at snack time by having a consistent approach, such as support to pour their own drinks.

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who attend

Staff have an excellent understanding of how to meet the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They create an extremely wide range of highly interesting and challenging activities to cover every area of learning. Staff make highly detailed plans to follow children's interests. This means they strike the optimum balance of child-initiated and adult-led activities as children become very absorbed in what they do. Children make excellent progress given their starting points and capabilities.

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who attend

Staff have exemplary teaching skills. They consider very carefully how to talk to children and adapt their techniques for different age groups. Babies hear lots of expressive communication which echoes their own vocalisation. Staff also use a wide range of vocabulary with babies which is focused on the here-and-now, so babies always hear words in context, such as train, wheels and push. When working with older children, staff give lots of commentary to describe children's play and ask thought-provoking questions. This develops children's thinking and problem-solving skills as well as their language. Where children have communication delays or difficulties, staff are highly skilled at using sign language and a clear tone of voice. Staff adapt the environment to support children's communication skills. For example, a song board shows a wide range of simple picture symbols which indicate different songs. This gives every child an easy way to choose their

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who attend

favourites and join in. Children enjoy excellent opportunities to engage in open-ended messy play. Staff understand the importance of sensory play in brain development and provide interesting combinations of materials. For example, children play with foam, flour and two shapes of pasta with plates and cups. They fill the cups, create foam cakes and add spaghetti candles and have great fun handling the materials. They also learn how the different materials combine and change texture, which stimulates their imaginations. Staff are very skilled at observing children at play and only intervening when necessary. For example, staff judge children's level of engagement and do not interrupt babies when they are fascinated by seeing the tracks their train has made in the glitter. This gives children the time and space they need to really focus and understand what they are doing.

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who attend

Children rapidly learn mathematical concepts and counting skills. Staff are very skilled at building children's ability to recognise and use numbers in their play. As a result, children are able to recognise numerals and arrange foam numbers in the correct order. Staff involve children in solving mathematical problems, such as asking how many plates they will need for all the children, and how many more cups for this table. In this way, children understand the relevance of mathematical skills in their daily lives. Staff are highly skilled at teaching children the alphabet through using phonics and letter sounds. Children can identify objects that begin with a certain sound, and identify the letter symbol. Children are happy to give extra examples as they think of other words with the same sounds. This gives them an excellent introduction to early reading skills.

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who attend

Staff have highly effective assessment and planning methods. They begin to assess children's starting points with parents at the first meetings, and plan an activity designed to immediately engage that child when they first start. After six weeks of attendance, staff use their continuous observations of the child to review their abilities in each area of learning and establish their next steps. Staff share and discuss this with the parents and offer suggestions and ideas for parents to support their children's learning and development at home. After this, staff hold reviews with parents every three months or more frequently if they identify any kind of additional need. The progress check at age two is one of the regular reviews held. Planning is closely focused on children's next steps, so activities are always well targeted at children's interests and abilities. They provide challenge to stretch children's abilities which means that gifted and talented children are

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who attend

just as challenged as children with identified delays. As a result, all children make rapid progress in their learning and development, giving them an outstanding foundation for their future learning.

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

The nursery has a highly effective key person system. Staff begin to build relationships with the children at a home visit, and work closely with the family to settle everyone in. Staff are happy to adapt to children's wishes, so if a child forms a strong bond with another member of the team, they will change the key person to suit the child. This means that children form secure bonds and learn to separate confidently from their parents. The key person has a very detailed knowledge of each of their key children's learning style and personality and shares this information with the rest of the team. This means that all staff give children consistent, warm care and can meet their individual needs. As a result, children demonstrate an exemplary sense of belonging. Staff create excellent learning environments for children. Equipment, toys and resources are stored at child height, labelled with words and pictures so that children can easily see where things

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

are. Staff have skilfully arranged different cosy and communication-friendly areas where children can withdraw. There are also low sinks and messy play areas, which enables children to freely engage in messy play. The outdoor area is very adaptable. For example, staff can change the size of the area available to play on ride-on toys, or to enable children of different ages to play together. This means that children have excellent opportunities to independently explore, and set their own challenging play.

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

Children have exemplary opportunities to learn about healthy lifestyles. They help to prepare the food at snack time and choose from a wide range of healthy options, including lots of fruit and vegetables. Children mostly pour their own drinks and serve themselves, but this is not consistent practice across the whole staff team, so children's self-care skills are not fully supported. Children go on outings to local shops to buy food and learn about which foods are good for them. Children quickly adopt excellent hygiene habits because staff consistently support children through well-established routines. For example, they ensure all children wash their hands after using the toilet and before eating. Staff also explain to children about washing germs away, so children know the purpose of what they are doing. Children's physical development is very well fostered. Staff pay close attention to children's physical and sensory experiences so they have excellent body awareness.

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

Equipment for physical play gives children challenge, such as working together to ride a two-seater tricycle. Babies have space and time to move around the play areas, stretching to reach toys, or balancing as they walk. All children benefit from an exemplary range of mark-making and early-writing play, which develops their small muscle skills. Children learn how to manage their safety in simple ways, such as knowing that if they do not sit properly on their chair, they may fall off. Children learn from the explanations that staff give them, and learn to care for themselves as much as the staff care for them.

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

Behaviour management is exemplary. Children demonstrate excellent cooperative skills in their play, taking turns and sharing the toys. They invite their friends to play with them in imaginative play, and understand the routines, such as tidy-up time. Children relish opportunities to help staff. For example, they are proud to help lay the tables for lunch and arrange friends to sit together. Staff have highly consistent, shared strategies for dealing with challenging behaviour and give very clear messages so children know exactly what is expected of them. Staff use visual cards and sign language to support what they say, and children rapidly learn how to behave well. Staff are very careful to give lots of praise and recognition to good behaviour, so that children consistently receive positive messages too. This helps children to learn how to modify their actions and they build very strong self-esteem as a result. Overall, children have excellent opportunities to acquire the

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

personal, social and emotional skills they need for the next stage of their learning, such as going to school.

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provision

Leaders and managers have an excellent understanding of how to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements. All staff undergo suitability checks before they start as staff or as volunteers, so children are never cared for by unchecked people. Policies and procedures are detailed, and staff undertake regular, rigorous training to ensure they know how to handle any concerns they have. For example, staff recently reviewed the whistleblowing policy, looking at different scenarios and how they should respond. This means that staff understand how to promote the child's welfare as paramount. Staff are extremely careful of children's safety and follow the guidance from the rigorous risk assessment process. They keep meticulous records of children's attendance and all documentation is extremely well organised. This underpins children's well-being. Leaders and managers in the wider organisation are highly qualified and experienced, giving

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provision

excellent support to staff. Supervision and appraisals help staff and managers identify strengths and areas for improvement, leading to detailed action plans to increase staff skills and knowledge. Several staff act as mentors, and take on responsibilities within their team while they undertake a degree, for example. This has a direct impact on staff practice as they report higher levels of confidence in handling challenging situations, and improves the provision for children. Managers and senior management involve parents, children and staff in evaluating their work and set ambitious targets for improvement. For example, they have initiated a beach school and forest school project to engage children with their environment. Managers regularly log children's achievements and analyse the data they create to identify achievement gaps for groups of children, such as boys, or individuals. Any gaps are addressed with a broad range of initiatives. For example, data

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provision

showed that children's achievements in shape, space and measure were identified as an issue. Managers improved resources, trained staff and involved parents to ensure that the issue was addressed thoroughly.

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provision

Parents enjoy exemplary levels of involvement with the nursery. They receive detailed information about their child's day and activities through the care diary and verbal handovers. Staff undertake home visits to get to know the family and build secure relationships. Parents take part in 'live action' sessions where they see video of their child at play and can learn about how children develop. Parents also receive regular ideas and resources for activities to do at home, which means they can consistently support their children's learning. Staff work with parents and other professionals to devise shared strategies where children have any additional needs. This means that children can make rapid progress in their social and behaviour skills as they learn well from having a consistent approach. The nursery is a key part of the community and has built exemplary partnerships with the children's centres, children's services and schools. This means they

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provision

can share their expertise and gain further knowledge from their partners, which supports children and their families.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Requires improvement The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected within twelve months of the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement action. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of

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Grade Judgement Description

the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY337266 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 944125 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 42 Number of children on roll 76 Name of provider Fellowship Of St Nicholas Date of previous inspection 05/07/2012 Telephone number 01424 438660

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Setting details

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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