Little Pioneers Nursery & Pre-School

The Co-operative Childcare Chichester The Royal West Sussex NHS Trust, St. Richards Hospital, Spitalfield Lane, CHICHESTER, West Sussex, PO19 6SE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/12/2013 04/04/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Children are happy and settled at the setting. They benefit from the kind and caring way that staff support them and meet their daily needs.  The nursery is well run by a team of dedicated and hard working staff who communicate effectively with both the children and their parents or carers.  Parents are able to share information about their children's learning and development at home through the nursery's 'wow' voucher scheme.  Staff seek help from other agencies to ensure that any children that need additional help receive it promptly.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff provide registration forms for parents to complete before their children start and these record general information about their children's needs and achievements. However, staff do not consistently seek additional information from parents once their children start to help target planning more effectively to fully build on children's current achievements from the start.

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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 children's play and staff interaction, indoors and outdoors.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the manager and staff at appropriate times throughout the observations.  The inspector and manager undertook a joint observation of a teaching activity.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning records, planning documentation, the self-evaluation form, a selection of policies, development plans and staff suitability records.  The inspector also took account of the views of three parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

The Co-operative Childcare Chichester is one of a national day nursery chain owned by Midcounties Co-operative. It is situated in the grounds of St. Richard's Hospital in Chichester, West Sussex. The nursery is in a purpose-built building. There are four rooms for children's use with access to an enclosed outdoor garden. The nursery is open each weekday from 6.45am until 6.30pm throughout the year, only closing for bank holidays. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. Currently 114 children are on roll. Children's hours of attendance vary to suit the working hours of their parents. Children are grouped in four rooms, according to age and stage of development. The nursery supports children who have special educational needs and/ or disabilities and children who learn English as an additional language. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children. The nursery currently has 24 staff, including the manager,

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Information about the setting

deputy and cover staff. Of these, 18 members of staff hold relevant early years qualification and six are working towards an early years qualification.

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

 strengthen the two-way flow of information, particularly relating to gathering consistently in-depth information from parents about each child's experiences at home when children first start at the nursery.

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who attend

The atmosphere of the day nursery is calm and purposeful. There is a clear focus on helping children to acquire communication and language skills and on supporting their physical, personal, social and emotional development. Staff create an interesting environment and use good teaching techniques to engage children; therefore, children are eager to take part in the wide range of exciting and challenging experiences offered to them each day. They benefit from attentive staff whose supervision and interaction is effective and provides much individual attention for all children. Staff make good eye contact with children and give them plenty of time to think and form their answers. They encourage children's independence and instil a 'have a go' approach. Staff deploy themselves effectively and work well together to enhance children's learning both indoors and outdoors in the garden environment.

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who attend

Children develop good communication skills as they are encouraged to speak clearly and politely to their friends and to adults. Younger children are encouraged to repeat sounds or words while looking at books. Some of the older children recognise and write recognisable letters and shapes. They demonstrate good control and coordination when using pencils and crayons as they draw their own pictures. Older children count well and recognise some shapes and numbers. They are able to use the computer to draw squares and circles or to make up their own pictures. They develop their mathematical language as they discuss the size and shape of the blocks they need to build a tower or how big the animals are in the straw 'den' outside. Younger children talk about shape and size as they complete simple tasks such as moving the beads on the bead runners or choosing the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle.

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who attend

Children's physical development is given good emphasis. Babies are well supported as they learn to pull up against the table or practise their newly acquired walking skills. Older children successfully develop and extend their physical skills as they learn to scoot or use the ride on toys. They learn to balance as they walk on and over the large tyres. They are frequently praised and encouraged by the staff. As a consequence they develop in confidence and self-esteem as they progress through the nursery.

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who attend

Staff plan children's experiences to cover the seven required areas of learning, both indoors and outdoors. Planning documents detail a very good programme of challenging and interesting activities for all children. Staff talk with parents and ask them to complete a document for their children when they first start at the nursery. The information gained provides staff with a good insight into children's interests and routine needs. However, this does not always provide in-depth details about children's learning and development at home. Therefore staff cannot always clearly identify children's starting points in all areas of learning to effectively inform their planning for children's learning once they commence at nursery.

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who attend

Staffs' ongoing planning for individual children is based on further observations and assessments made by all staff and then passed to each child's key worker. Key staff then make accurate assessments and plan individual next steps for each child. These are checked by managers to ensure that children's next steps are accurate and enable all children to make good progress in all areas of their learning and development. Assessments are also prepared for the progress check for two-year-old children to ensure that all children are developing at the expected rate. Staff work closely with parents to keep them informed about their children's learning and development. They frequently share children's learning stories with parents and encourage them to share information about their children's achievements at home through the 'wow' voucher scheme.

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who attend

Any children who are assessed as needing extra support or guidance, such as children with any particular needs or English as an additional language, are very well provided for. If it is felt that children and their families would benefit, other professionals are invited in to work with staff and provide further expertise.

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

All babies and young children are happy, settled and very much enjoy their time at the nursery, owing to the secure relationships established with all staff. Care practices are good and children learn about healthy routines such as hand washing and using tissues to wipe their noses. As they do this, they are developing a strong sense of independence and gaining in confidence. All children enjoy a hot, nutritious meal at midday and the nursery is able to cater for all dietary requirements. Babies are encouraged to try feeding themselves and older children to serve their own food. Older children know to wash their hands before lunch and to sit quietly while eating. They are encouraged to learn how to meet their own care and hygiene needs. Babies routine needs are met well by staff who provide effective supervision and attention. For example, staff ensure that they change nappies regularly so children remain comfortable. All staff know the children in the nursery

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

well but form strong bonds with the children and families for whom they take special responsibility. This robust key person and second key person system ensures that routines are individual to each child and agreed with parents.

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

Children confidently help themselves to the good quality and child-accessible resources and equipment. They interact well with staff, asking for help or support if required. They chat confidently with staff about what they have done during the morning or their plans for the afternoon session. Children's understanding of safety is threaded through many daily routines and activities. They talk about being careful in the outdoor environment or using scissors or cutters sensibly so they don't hurt themselves or other children. Children behave well and learn to play cooperatively with their friends and staff. They are learning that they must be kind to each other and take turns with equipment. Staff encourage this through the use of sand timers which children use themselves to manage situations such as taking turns on the computer. Staff ensure that children receive appropriate treatment if they have an accident or are ill. Staff complete accident forms and ensure that parents

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

sign these to keep them informed about what happened and how their child was treated.

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

Staff organise the environment in all areas of the nursery very well, to ensure it is interesting and welcoming for children and meets their learning needs. Staff successfully support children as they progress through the different rooms within the nursery. Children visit the next age group before moving up permanently to ensure that they are familiar with both staff and the environment. The nursery children feed into a wide range of different schools and staff and management have made good arrangements for sharing their knowledge of the children with these other settings.

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provision

Management and staff all work well together to ensure that the nursery is efficiently organised and that routines operate smoothly on a daily basis. They use standard documentation provided by the co-operative childcare group and follow clearly defined values. The nursery's practice is fully inclusive and children attend from a variety of backgrounds and cultures. Management and staff have a very good understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the welfare, safeguarding and learning and development requirements and ensuring staff suitability.

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provision

Robust systems are in place to ensure that all staff are suitably qualified and appropriately vetted. A good proportion of staff are qualified to level three and above. All staff follow clear induction and appraisal systems that keep them well informed of issues such as safeguarding and updates to policies and procedures. Management identify staff training needs and make sure that these are clearly targeted to improve the settings already very good practice. Since the last inspection there have been some changes in management and other more senior roles and all staff are settling into the new routines well. Despite these changes, the staff team work well together and are keen to make further improvements in their pursuit of excellence.

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provision

Arrangements for safeguarding children's well-being are effective. The manager and her deputy are the named people in charge of keeping children safe and both have completed relevant training. All staff receive in-house training in how to protect the children in their care and as a result have an clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The implementation of a comprehensive range of policies and procedures and accurate completion of records, such as those of any accidents or injuries to children, ensures children's needs are well met and that they are fully safeguarded. Comprehensive risk assessments take place regularly and any areas of concern are addressed. They include anything children may come into contact with such as certain areas of the premises or the condition of resources. For example, when the door of the nursery was not working properly the nursery assessed children's safety and made sure that children were kept

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provision

safe whilst it was awaiting repair. This shows that the nursery gives a high priority to children's welfare and well-being.

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provision

Management and staff track and monitor the education provided for children ensuring that good progress is made in all areas of learning. Staff and management form effective partnerships with parents and other agencies to ensure that any interventions needed are secured and children receive the support they need. Parent's opinions are sought regarding the organisation of the nursery and changes are implemented accordingly. Parents demonstrate that they appreciate the staff's work and dedication.

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provision

Self-evaluation is carried out by management at the nursery, and takes into account the views of staff and parents. The new management team are at present developing their evaluation and this will feed into a new improvement plan for the future of the nursery.

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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 EY286112 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 927493 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 60 Number of children on roll 114 Name of provider Buffer Bear Limited Date of previous inspection 04/04/2013 Telephone number 01243 536778

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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

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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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