Acre Wood Children's Nursery

Acre Wood Children's Nursery 1 Westfield Court, Lower Wortley Road, LEEDS, LS12 4PX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 21/10/2013 07/03/2012

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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

 The management team regularly monitor how the provision operates. This ensures that the children's safety, well-being and learning are effectively supported.  Children progress well in their learning because the staff plan a broad range of fun and challenging activities to support them across the seven areas of learning.  Parents are included successfully with how children progress within the provision. This shared approach between staff and parents, successfully supports children's achievements.  Children develop positive relationships with the staff and other children. This is because the staff attend to their individual needs effectively, by including them all and cheerfully praising their achievements.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope for staff to develop the use of open-ended questions during activities, to maximise the opportunities for children to extend their critical thinking skills.  There are other opportunities to consider with regard to developing the outdoor environment, to support babies' sensory skills.

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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 sampled a range of documentation that included, evaluation documents, children's records of learning and policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector visited all the play areas indoors and outdoors and spoke to several staff about the learning intentions of activities observed at the inspection.  The inspector spoke to several parents, and children present.

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Information about the setting

Acre Wood Day Nursery was registered in 2008. The provision is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The provision is situated in a purpose built nursery in the Lower Wortley area of Leeds, and is managed by a limited company. The nursery serves the local area. The provision operates from three play rooms on the ground floor and two play rooms on the first floor. There are two enclosed areas available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 19 members of staff. Of these, 15 staff members hold a level 3 qualification in childcare, two staff hold a level 2 and two are working towards a level 2 qualification. In addition, one staff member also holds Early Years Professional Status. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round, except for a week throughout the Christmas period and bank holidays. The opening times are from 7.30am until 6pm from Monday to Friday. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 78 children attending who are in the early years age range. The nursery provides funded early education for two, three and four-year-old children. The provision supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special needs and/or disabilities.

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

 extend the opportunities for the babies to develop their sensory skills, for example, by introducing further natural materials within the babies' play area outdoors

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

 develop children's critical thinking skills further, for example, by ensuring that the staff extend the use of open-ended questioning during activities.

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who attend

The staff have a good understanding of the children's individual learning needs. As a consequence, all ability groups receive effective support from staff to help them progress towards the early learning goals. The children are developing comfortably within the typical range of expected development for their age, according to their starting points and varying times spent at the provision. The quality of teaching is good. All the staff are cheerful and demonstrate interest and enthusiasm as they interact with the children. They plan interesting experiences for them, that present challenges and support their individual learning styles. For example, young children who enjoy rolling balls are effectively supported. This is because the staff are playful and join in with them. Staff seize the opportunity to introduce different size balls, which present challenges to the children's physical skills and thinking as they grasp small balls, hold a very large ball and work out

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who attend

how to move them. Babies have lots of opportunities to develop their sensory skills indoors, such as, through exploring different textures and materials spontaneously and in planned activities. In addition, as the staff know it is important for the babies to learn about themselves and what they look like; the staff have arranged permanent and safe mirrors for the babies to enjoy exploring their images as they play. However, opportunities for the babies to develop their sensory skills and therefore, further progress these skills outdoors are less well developed.

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who attend

Children are supported effectively in their early literacy skills. This is because the staff ensure that they have consistent opportunities to practice mark making. The children are encouraged to use a variety of tools and their hands and feet as they explore paint. Staff use the opportunity very well to develop communication and social skills, as they consistently talk to the children and get down to their level. Older and more able children receive good support to extend their skills in writing their name, such as on the beautiful individual pictures that they have created of snow people. Children who speak English as an additional language receive good support. This is because the staff learn key words in the children's home language, to support them alongside learning English as they play. Staff do ask lots of purposeful questions that help children recognise shapes, colours and recall how they carried out different tasks. This helps the children follow through the

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who attend

thinking process and develop their ideas. However, there are times when staff do not always follow up questioning to extend children's critical thinking even further, such as asking more 'how?' and 'what happens next?' questions. This means that there is scope within the provision to further develop children's critical thinking skills and to therefore, help the children make the best possible progress that they can. The staff help the children develop mathematical skills effectively. For example, the staff support and encourage counting skills individually and in groups. The staff give good support through re-visiting the task, which helps the children consolidate what they are learning.

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who attend

The staff make good use of observations and assessments, to support children's and babies next steps in learning. Clear and regular tracking of their progress, gives the staff a clear picture of what the children like to do and what they already know and can do. The staff use this information to make plans to extend children's learning, such as their mathematical and communication and language skills. This ensures that that the children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, move on to the next stage. All of this supports their readiness for school effectively. Parents are successfully included in their children's learning while at the provision, through regular discussion and the sharing of the children's records of learning. This ensures that the staff and parents work together to help children progress in important areas, such as their learning about the world and social skills. In addition, profuse and attractively displayed notices

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who attend

throughout the provision, give parents useful information regarding key persons who support their children. Information on how the children's learning is supported across the seven areas of learning is also available through out the provision. In addition, the staff carry out regular summaries of the children's progress, including the progress check at age two, which is shared with parents and used as a guide to help the staff plan for the children's future learning. This supports the children's development successfully.

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

Children's feelings of security and well-being are strongly supported. This is because each child has a staff member assigned to them as their key person and they have an effective knowledge of the children's individuality, so that they can give them good support. This also includes communicating with the parents regularly and with other professionals to support the children's individual needs. Staff are consistently positive and cheerful in their approach. For example, staff take care to support children's and babies' well-being by talking to them consistently and explaining happenings during the day. Staff give close attention to help children and babies feel settled within the provision, through responding immediately to their needs; this involves giving them close, one to one attention when appropriate, such as during nappy changes, feeding times and following sleeping patterns. In addition, staff are skilful at reassuring new babies and involving them purposefully in

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

activities to keep them happy and motivated. Children and babies develop positive relationships with the staff and other children as a consequence of the good support that they receive within the provision. Children's confidence is regularly reinforced because the staff include children equally in activities and they frequently praise their achievements, such as, when babies attempt to stand up and when older and more able children count and name colours. All of this contributes to children behaving positively and their behaviour is good.

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

The staff's successful management of children's transitions between the different rooms within the nursery, ensures that the children have good opportunities to settle well in their new room and enjoy their time. For example, the staff talk to the children about changes and key persons take the children to visit initially before they move rooms. Transitions are managed flexibly to meet the children's needs and timescales agreed with the parents. In addition, when the time comes for children to leave the nursery, school staff are invited to visit the nursery to aid the transition process comfortably for the children. All of this supports children's emotional security and well-being effectively.

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

Children are developing a good understanding of healthy lifestyles through regular outdoor activities that promote exercise. Children frequently make choices and therefore develop strong independence skills. For example, they choose from an accessible and broad range of resources suitable for their differing needs, and they are encouraged to put on their own coats. Babies have good opportunities to practise feeding themselves with good ongoing support from the staff. The meals are balanced and cover all the important food groups. Children are hydrated well because water is readily available and children can also drink milk. The environment is clean, effectively maintained and organised to create a stimulating and welcoming environment for children and the parents. The provision inside and outdoors is effectively risk assessed. This ensures that the children can explore the environment safely. The staff talk to the children about safety, which includes walking

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

down the stairs safely and handling resources with care as they explore. This helps the children learn how to keep themselves safe, and to consider other peoples safety within the environment.

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provision

The management team demonstrate a good overview of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. For example, they monitor closely how children are safeguarded within the provision. This includes ensuring that all staff are kept up to date on safeguarding issues through meetings or training. This shows the strong priority given to ensure that staff have the knowledge, to ensure that children are protected effectively. The management and staff are fully aware of the importance of responding to any safeguarding concerns, which includes notifying the required professional bodies of any significant events, to keep children safe from harm. In addition, employment procedures are implemented effectively, to make sure that the staff are appropriately background checked and therefore suitable to work with the children. The staff have a clear knowledge of their role with regard to who to contact if there are any concerns about any children's well-being or safety. The

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provision

safeguarding policy is accessible and effective in ensuring that the staff and parents are fully aware of the procedures in place, to keep children protected and what to do if there are any concerns. Induction procedures, individual staff appraisals and ongoing support through meetings, provides the staff with good support to work effectively with the children. Staff training, such as first aid is regularly updated to support children's safety and well-being. The management and staff form successful relationships with the parents, to support children's overall needs. For example, they liaise with the parents daily and organise parents evenings, which are planned times to discuss the children's individual needs and development.

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provision

The management and staff implement the learning and development requirements successfully, to support children. For example, this is demonstrated in how the staff arrange the learning environment to support all children's needs, and how they plan to help children make good progress. The staff qualifications do have a good impact on the children because the staff build on their underpinning knowledge, to ensure that the children receive good support with their learning. The monitoring of the provision is good. This is because the management and staff are pro-active in reviewing their practice, taking advice, such as from the local authority and making the improvements identified. They recognise their strengths and weaknesses and work enthusiastically to continue to update the provision further, to support children's all-round development. For example, the management have recently improved the staff supervision sessions by including

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provision

safeguarding as an agenda item. This ensures that the staff receive regular support and guidance with carrying out their duties in protecting children. In addition, the management have recently improved their monitoring of how the educational programmes are implemented across the nursery provision to support children, through observing staff more regularly as they interact with children and reviewing children's individual records of learning with the relevant key person. The management and staff have effectively implemented the recommendations raised at the last inspection. For example, they have developed lots of opportunities for more able children to become independent and make choices, such as at snack time, and they have implemented a behaviour manager who is able to give advice to staff if required on any behaviour issues. In addition, the management have fitted a padlock to the gate of the babies' outdoor play area. All of this

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provision

effectively improves the support to children's safety, learning and well-being. Parents' points of view are included and voiced mainly through discussion and sharing information through questionnaires. Parents' views sampled at the inspection demonstrate that the staff clearly form successful relationships with the parents, working alongside them to support the children's all-round development, safety and well-being. Children have a voice by being encouraged to make choices and discuss daily happenings throughout the day.

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provision

The staff form good relationships with other provisions where children may attend in the future, such as the local schools. For example, they contact local schools to invite them to visit the nursery at appropriate times. This enables them to share information to support children's care and learning. The staff work closely with the local authority, through sharing information when staff from the local authority visit the nursery. This ensures that children receive good support to their all-round 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 Satisfactory Satisfactory provision is performing less well than expectations in one or more of the key areas. It requires improvement in order to be good. 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 the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be inspected again within 12 months of the date of this inspection.

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Grade Judgement Description

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 EY363796 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 939412

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 53 Number of children on roll 78 Name of provider Maxine Frances Sadler Date of previous inspection 07/03/2012 Telephone number 01132 638 008

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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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