Early Birds - Carter Lane Neighbourhood Nursery

Early Birds - Carter Lane Neighbourhood Nursery Carter Lane, SHIREBROOK, Derbyshire, NG20 8PE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16/01/2014 17/09/2008

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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

 Staff are making accurate assessments of children's learning and progress. Staff continually respond to each child's emerging needs and interests, effectively building on their prior skills and knowledge. Children's learning is closely monitored, which enables staff to plan effective teaching experiences so that all children make good progress in their learning and development.  Children develop secure emotional attachments to staff as they work closely with parents and outside agencies to meet each child's individual needs. This promotes the inclusion of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.  Leadership and management is strong. The provider and senior staff are passionate about their work with children. As a result, the staff team work together to ensure a positive and good quality early years experience for all children.  Safeguarding procedures are strong and therefore children are protected from harm

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to improve the opportunities to extend children's learning to the very highest level by encouraging the children to join in and contribute their ideas.

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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's activities in the baby room, the toddler room, the pre-school room and the outdoor environment.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the provider/manager of the provision and spoke to staff throughout the inspection when appropriate.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at various documents, including a sample of policies and procedures, children's records, planning and assessments and evidence of the suitability of staff, staff qualifications and recruitment records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of the parents spoken to on the day of the inspection.

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Information about the setting

The Early Birds Neighbourhood Day Nursery was registered in 2004 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in Shirebrook, Derbyshire. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from Carter Lane Community Centre. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 17 members of childcare staff. Of these, all hold appropriate early years qualifications ranging from level 2 to degree level. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 8am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 51 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children 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 children's learning by optimising every opportunity to encourage children to join in and contribute their ideas.

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who attend

Children are cared for in different rooms according to their age and ability, which enables staff to plan and resource each room to meet their specific needs. Children have lots of fun as they participate in a wide range of hands-on learning experiences, which are planned in line with their individual needs and interests. Children happily engage in the wide range of adult-led and child-initiated activities and play experiences on offer to them. As children get older, the emphasis moves towards staff providing them with more adult- led activities. This creates structure for children where they develop the skills needed for starting school, like learning to sit down, listen and remain focused for small periods of time. Children with additional needs are effectively supported by skilled staff to also become involved. A small group of older children explore letters and sounds. However, some opportunities to extend children's learning by optimising every opportunity to

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who attend

encourage children to join in and contribute their ideas are not fully explored. Children enjoy developing writing skills when tracing letters and copying their name. The older children are learning to form letters to write their names and this is encouraged as part of the self-registration process, whereas younger children enjoy developing their early writing skills as they use flour to make marks and patterns. Children have fun as they play in the glitter, initially using their fingers to make marks. When one child transfers his favourite toy character into the glitter, another child observes this and finds a truck which they also transfer into the glitter. Staff allow children to do this as they understand children are developing their own play through exploration.

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who attend

All children are supported as they develop independence with their health and self-care skills. For example, babies learn to feed themselves, with staff offering support and assistance where needed and older children show skills as they independently serve themselves at meal times. Toddlers are independently accessing the potty and toilet to develop their independence and self-care skills. Children engage in indoor and outdoor play experiences covering all areas of learning. For example, children enjoy climbing on the climbing equipment and slides outside, construct with large blocks and crates, and access balls and hoops which develops their physical skills. They also learn about healthy eating by planting and growing vegetables outside.

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who attend

Children's starting points are identified from the clear information gathered from parents and through staff observations when they first start. This enables staff to clearly identify children's level of ability, on which they continue to build. Observational assessments monitor children's progress and are used to identify and plan for their next steps of learning. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are fully supported and included as staff adapt activities to meet their individual needs. Support for children with special educational needs is highly effective. The special educational needs coordinator for the nursery is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about her role. As a result, children get the best possible support and are fully included in all aspects of the nursery.

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who attend

Partnership working with parents, carers and outside agencies results in the continued support and development of these children. This results in every child achieving to their full potential. Parents and carers receive good information about their children's progress and development through the continuous exchange of information. This includes termly progress reports detailing children's achievements and a specific progress report at age two, which parents are fully involved in.

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

Staff show care and consideration as they respect the individuality of each child. Children are assigned a key person who develops close links with the family to ensure the continuous exchange of good information. Settling-in sessions help children to develop secure emotional attachments to their key person, resulting in them soon settling into the nursery. When children are upset or tired, staff provide them with the reassurance they need to thrive at the nursery, for example, offering children a cuddle when they are tired or upset. The key person system is strong and parents spoken to acknowledged staffs' efforts at tailoring the settling-in procedure according to their children's unique needs. This is because staff understand the importance of children feeling safe, secure and confident. All children receive lots of praise and encouragement and as they get older they are supported to learn acceptable rules and boundaries. This promotes children's self-

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

confidence and self-esteem and it helps them to be well behaved. Children make their own decisions as they access and choose their own play materials. They also develop important self-care skills as they learn to put their own coats and shoes on and develop independence with their personal care routines like toileting and hand washing. This helps children to be ready for starting school.

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

Children benefit from healthy snacks and home-cooked nutritious meals, which meet their dietary requirements. Children's awareness of the benefits of healthy eating are actively promoted through discussions at meal times and during first-hand experiences where they help to grow their own vegetables. Daily physical play opportunities enable children to learn about the importance of being active. Children are encouraged to take manageable risks as they independently explore the climbing wall and other outside climbing equipment, with staff nearby to support them if they need help.

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

The environment is stimulating, friendly and well resourced. Resources are stored at low level and are well labelled to encourage children's engagement. Inclusion is given a high priority, as a result, the children are accepting of each other's similarities and differences. Internal and external transition arrangements are highly effective as they support children's move into the nursery, between rooms within the nursery and to other settings and school. Children visit the local school with staff and explore the indoor and outdoor environment as part of their next stage of learning. Progress reports and in-depth discussions are also held with the child's new school, providing them with comprehensive information on each child's starting points.

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provision

Safeguarding arrangements are strong. Staff understand their role in protecting children from harm and are aware of what to do should they have a concern about children's welfare. Recruitment and induction procedures are robust and ensure that all those working with the children, are suitable to do so. Risk assessments are thorough and as a result, children are cared for in a safe environment. Sampled documentation and records are well maintained, giving a firm indication that all required documentation is in place and firmly underpins children's safety and welfare.

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provision

The manager and deputy provide strong, passionate leadership. They work closely with their skilled, qualified staff team to meet the needs of children and to ensure all statutory requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage are effectively met. The majority of the staff have worked at the setting for a long period of time, which provides continuity of care and learning for children and their families. The setting evaluate their provision through thorough self-evaluation, which incorporates the views of all users. For example, regular parental questionnaires encourage parents to feed back on specific practice issues throughout the year. This provides the setting with a good, balanced overview of the whole provision, which leads to the identification of targets for future development. The manager and deputy monitor the educational programmes to ensure that they are broad and balanced and reflect individual children's specific learning needs and so that every

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provision

child achieves to their full potential. The manager has just started to monitor the quality of teaching through implementing peer observations; this sets high standards for staff to work towards as they continue to build on their good practice. All staff hold appropriate early years qualifications, as well as paediatric first aid certificates and food hygiene certificates to ensure children's health and safety is maintained. Yearly appraisals and regular supervision meetings are used to identify the future training needs of staff, which results in their ongoing development through training. The setting place the child at the heart of what they do and as such they firmly understand the importance of developing effective communication channels with all parties involved with the child. Partnerships with parents and other professionals are strong and contribute significantly to the good progress children make. This results in a

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provision

joined up approach from all those involved in the child's life, in order to provide continuity and every opportunity for children to reach their full potential. Parents confirm they are very happy with the setting and their children are settled and enjoy attending. They also confirm that staff are approachable and provide them with clear information about their children's day. Children's care and learning needs are effectively met as the setting provides them with a firm foundation for their continued learning and development.

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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 EY283029 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 861130

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 83 Number of children on roll 100 Name of provider Carter Lane Neighbourhood Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection 17/09/2008 Telephone number 01623 746648

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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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