Squirrels Nursery

Squirrels Daycare The Acorn Centre, 76 Eagle Avenue, Waterlooville, PO8 9UB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/01/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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 provider continually maintains high ratios of staff to supervise children thoroughly and meet their needs for care and learning.  There are competently organised routines for assessing risks and hazards and for planning outings to responsibly maintain children's safety and security  The provider follows well-established systems of performance management which fully encourages staff professional progress and strongly improves their daily practice.  Staff include and plan a wide range of purposeful learning opportunities during indoor and outdoor play and they effectively focus on children's individual learning needs.  Staff provide very flexible arrangements to meet family needs and maintain continuity and this consistently builds relationships with parents.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is less focus on using the daily routines to increase children's mathematical understanding and in this way include regular opportunities to encourage their progress.

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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 viewed all areas used by children and observed the interaction between the staff and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the provider, staff, children and parents at appropriate times.  The inspector jointly observed an activity with the manager and discussed practice.  The inspector viewed a range of documentation to support the inspection process.

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Information about the setting

Squirrels Daycare originally registered in 2003 and has recently re-registered as a limited company. The company operates two settings locally, to provide care and learning across the early years age group. The pre-school is situated in a community building in the Waterlooville area of Hampshire. Opening each weekday from 7 am to 6 pm for 51 weeks of the year. All children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. Children attend from the age of two years and the pre-school receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year old children. Staff provide care for older children before and after school and in school holidays. Children attend for a variety of sessions and staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. There are 12 members of staff including the provider

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Information about the setting

and manager. All staff hold relevant childcare qualification. The setting currently has 56 children on roll, of whom 48 are in the early years age group.

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

 use the snack and meal time routines to further develop and increase children's understanding of counting, quantity and mathematical concepts.

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who attend

The provider and staff use strong individually focused systems to ensure that children have a wide variety of activities and opportunities for learning through play. Staff effectively use their ongoing knowledge of children's progress to develop individual aspects of learning accordingly. For example, staff use white boards to highlight each child's focused area of learning, they then introduce and deliberately include opportunities for children to achieve their next steps in learning during any play. In this way all staff recognise and respond to appropriate early learning needs and they positively narrow any gaps in children's levels of achievement.

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who attend

Older children demonstrate high levels of motivation and interest. They know where different activities take place within the setting and they confidently move freely for the majority of the session. Children take part in craft activities with enthusiasm, they help to combine materials, recognising, handling and naming these. They talk readily about making shapes and staff increase children's vocabulary by encouraging them to describe how the texture feels. This results in children learning and pronouncing new words. Children take turns to share the mixture and learn to treat each other politely. Children have dedicated attention from staff and they develop their skills of using technology by playing games on the computer. Children recognise their names on the list and know when it is their turn; they learn to follow staff instructions well. Staff are currently concentrating on increasing children's ability to register themselves and know their written

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who attend

Children have newly dedicated areas for storytelling and they listen with interest when staff read and show them pictures. They take part at group times and talk about the weather and the month of the year. In this way children successfully learn to be confident and speak in front of others. There are fully planned small group activities for children who have individual learning targets and staff show high levels of skill. They maintain children's concentration on speech and language by continually moving conversations on and adding new topics of discussion. Consequently children are very interested and focused for short time spans and they show high levels of enjoyment. Staff plan and use these techniques to provide evidence of children's progress in speech and language.

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who attend

The continual daily outside play provision enables children to make their own decisions about play. They show a good understanding of the world by readily wearing hard hats during their imaginative building games. They skilfully use the tools and resources to solve problems when joining construction equipment and staff fully encourage and praise their efforts. Children play games in small groups and these include some counting and problem solving activities. However, staff do not always use the daily snack time routines to encourage children's further understanding of quantity and develop their mathematical language.

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who attend

All key person staff in the pre-school complete comprehensive records of learning for individual children attending. They effectively use the individual assessments completed at the sister nursery for each child at the age of two years, as these are transferred with the children. The provider clearly understands how to meet the requirements for assessing the progress of any children who transfer from other settings.

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who attend

The provider and staff thoroughly involve parents in their children's learning. They welcome parents and provide open days and social events. There are ample notices and access to a wide range of documentation. Parents clearly know their child's key person and they have regular information about seasonal topics and events. Parents help children to complete small homework tasks and staff link these to individual learning needs. The provider and staff show a full commitment to supporting families by helping with travel arrangements and extending the care and learning opportunities at weekends. These initiatives fully encourage parental involvement and promote a good community spirit.

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who attend

Staff help children to prepare for their transfer to school and use a variety of methods to encourage their understanding. For example, staff plan and organise visits and events throughout the year. They encourage older children to make scrap books, often using photographs they have taken themselves during the visits. Children read stories and talk about moving on to school, they practise dressing in school uniforms and in this way staff enable children to develop effective skills of independence to enable them to manage.

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

The provider has fully established staff roles and key person responsibilities. Staff clearly demonstrate a positive and accurate understanding of individual children's needs and characteristics. Regular staff meetings and consistent staff involvement in the planning for activities, fully encourage all staff to promote children's learning. There are high ratios of adults to children and this enables staff to continually respond to children's needs. Consequently children gain a strong sense of belonging and this helps them to develop confidence and meets their emotional and social development. Younger children have ample time to settle and staff fully understand their need to wander and watch at first. This gradual process reinforces children's bonding and staff gently encourage children by name as they show increasing interest and involvement. Many children show a keen ability to take part in small group activities, they learn to take turns and they understand how to

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

share resources. Children are encouraged to understand sign language and staff use this frequently at group times to gain children's full attention and increase their responses. Children fully respond to the daily music to signify tidying the toys, showing strong positive behaviour and an understanding of following routines.

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

Children have a very wide choice of organised activity areas within the setting, based on the areas of learning. They move freely and independently self select. Children also have access to all learning opportunities during outdoor play and show how they increase their physical development. For example, children balance on a circuit of stepping stones and tyres with staff help. Staff have positioned the tyres near the fence to provide support and children repeat this many times. Staff encourage and praise children's efforts, practising with them to increase confidence and physical ability. Children have wheeled toys and they steer and manoeuvre these. They experiment with musical instruments learning how to make different sounds with different movements. Staff spend extended times outside using construction resources with many children who show a clear preference for learning in an outdoor environment.

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

Staff organise a daily rolling snack time and children competently know the routines for maintaining hygiene by washing their hands. Children demonstrate strong levels of independence in pouring drinks, spreading their crackers with butter and managing their fruit and raw vegetables. The pre-school provides all snack and lunchtime food and staff vary the types of food offered to ensure a healthy diet. Children often take part in making their own sandwiches and preparing their lunches and this enables staff to talk about food and increase children's understanding and awareness of healthy foods.

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

Staff fully engage with children at all levels to extend and increase their motivation and learning. They regularly alert children to hazards by reminding children to slow down their movements and quieten their voices during indoor play. Staff often encourage older children to recognise risks and hazards during activities by showing them laminated pictures, for example, of toys left on the floor. Children thoughtfully respond and readily talk about the dangers of tripping. In this way children learn about risks and hazards and develop an awareness of consequences.

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provision

The provider follows a well-established programme of performance management which fully promotes staff professional progress and strongly improves their daily practice. The inspection was brought forward following a notification from the provider. A child was left briefly unsupervised in a secure area. The provider took prompt and effective action to ensure staff are clear about the setting's policies and procedures, and informed parents and the relevant agencies. The inspection found that there are competently organised routines for assessing risks and hazards and for planning outings in advance to responsibly maintain children's safety and security. The pre-school continually maintains high ratios of staff to children and this fully enables staff to supervise children thoroughly and meet their needs for care and learning.

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provision

The provider and staff have a thorough knowledge and a strong commitment to meeting the requirements for children's learning and development. There are high levels of organisation across the provision to monitor children's progress and close any gaps in children's level of achievement. The pre-school has a full range of policies and procedures and these are readily available for parents. All staff take part in regular reviews of the procedures to ensure they reflect current practice. There is ample information displayed in the entrance area to meet the needs of all families attending.

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provision

All documentation is in place to effectively meet the welfare requirements and this demonstrates the provider's responsible attitude to safeguarding children. There are rigorous and regular annual procedures for checking the suitability of staff to work with children. The provider has fully developed all induction and appraisal systems and these are regularly included for all staff and managers. The setting has full training programmes for apprenticeship staff and offers continual learning for all staff through supervision and appraisals. All staff show a competent understanding of child protection, they have attended training and know how to respond to any concerns about children. Staff are dedicated to maintaining safety at all times and they follow the risk assessment processes daily to provide a safe and secure environment. They have clear and well-organised roles and responsibilities. Staff are very well-deployed at all times and they diligently meet

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provision

The provider works closely with staff across both registered provisions to make positive links and meet children and parents' needs. There are continual ongoing processes for monitoring children's learning and for evaluating all areas of the provision. These include staff meetings, parent questionnaires and the responses of the children during activities. Many changes have recently been included and staff track the children to gauge the positive or negative responses. Staff also carry out observations on each other to enable them to evaluate and discuss relevant training needs. Staff have successfully established close systems of liaising with other agencies and in this way they are fully supporting the needs of children and promoting their progress.

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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 EY471265 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 948479 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 36 Number of children on roll 73 Name of provider Squirrels Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 02392250070

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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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