Little Gems

Little Gems Christ Church Vicarage, Pendlebury Road, Swinton, Manchester, M27 4BF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 15/01/2014 15/04/2010

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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 safety of children is an absolute priority, along with effective partnership working with other professionals and agencies to support children's welfare.  Children of all ages and stages are well prepared for their next steps in learning because staff provide enjoyable learning experiences based on children's needs and interests, through observation, assessment and planning that is of good quality.  Parents are encouraged to play a part in bringing about the continuous improvement of the nursery, as well as being able to contribute to their children's learning.  The nursery demonstrates a firm commitment to making continuous improvement through self-evaluation involving the staff, managers and owners.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to enhance the use of information and communication technology and flexible resources for imaginative play, such as lengths of fabric, crates or boxes, for children aged two years and above.  The nursery has not fully explored the ways in which the educational programmes can be enriched by using the resources in the local area and community.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Inspection activities

 Documents regarding staff suitability and qualifications were checked during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out observations of childcare staff and their interactions with children throughout the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with one of the owners and the manager, and spoke with staff, children and parents at appropriate times during the inspection.  A joint observation was completed by the inspector and the manager.

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Information about the setting

Little Gems registered in 2008 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is privately owned and operates from a converted detached house in Swinton, Salford. Children are cared for in five playrooms across two floors, and there are two secure outdoor play areas.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm, except for Bank Holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year. There are currently 79 children on roll who are in the early years age range. The nursery also provides occasional care for older children and supports children who speak English as an additional language, as well as those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Funded early education is provided for two-, three- and four-year-olds.

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Information about the setting

There are 14 members childcare staff employed. Of these, seven hold a qualification at level 3, five hold level 2 and the manager holds level 4. One of the owners is the chef, and the setting also employs a cleaner. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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

 enhance the existing range of resources freely available to children for creative and malleable play on an ongoing basis, including larger items, such as cardboard boxes and lengths of fabric, indoors and outside

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

 enhance the opportunities to use information and communication technology independently for children over two years of age

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

 consider further ways in which the local community and resources in the area can be used when planning enrichments to the educational programmes, and develop ways to build on this.

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who attend

Children make good progress in their learning, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or English as an additional language. This is because key persons have a comprehensive knowledge of how individual children in their care learn best. Staff make plans for inclusive activities based on their observations of what individual children can do. They use any information gathered about children's interests and experiences at home to help motivate them in their learning. Educational programmes are well matched to children's ages, stages and needs, and as a result, children engage with activities provided. Observations are made frequently on children's learning and these are compared to expected developmental norms for children's ages. Comprehensive assessments are made of individual children's learning through tracking their progress in detail, including the progress check at age two. This enables staff to see if progress is as

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who attend

expected, above, or below for children's age and stage of development. Consequently, staff can address any perceived gaps in learning, so that early intervention can prevent greater future difficulties.

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who attend

Staff help babies to mark marks with paint using simple tools for dabbing, as well as their fingers. This helps babies to learn early that they can achieve an effect through their actions, as well as developing their manipulative skills through creative activities. Babies are provided with plenty of low-level furniture to pull themselves up to standing, including balustrades in front of windows. As a result, they strengthen their muscles and improve their whole body coordination while they watch from the window. Staff sit with them and provide a description of what they can see, including if older children are playing outside. This supports babies' early development of listening skills as well as providing a one-to- one opportunity for them to learn single words. Staff read enthusiastically and with great expression to older babies to help foster early enjoyment of books, and they respond by getting another book to look at after the story is over. Children's imaginative play in the

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who attend

home role play corner is well supported by staff, who give the names of objects that children offer them, to develop their acquisition of single words. As a result, staff make good use of the activity to enhance children's communication and language.

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who attend

Staff in the room for children aged two to three years make good use of children's interests in imaginative and 'superhero' play by providing dressing up clothes, such as pirate and astronaut costumes. This supports their development of communication skills by using their imaginative play to encourage speech in full sentences. It also provides an opportunity for children to improve their fine manipulative skills and coordination as they put on the outfits. However, this effective practice in developing communication skills through children's imaginative and creative play has not been further enhanced by offering resources, such as large boxes, or lengths of material that can be used flexibly, to inspire children's play. In the pre-school room, staff help children to learn about the wider world by setting up activities, such as play relating to 'working in a post office'. This provides opportunities for staff to model language about position, when children choose where to

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who attend

place stickers on envelopes, as well as developing their early knowledge of numbers and counting. Staff provide calculators to further support this, although they do not consistently promote their use, and also encourage children to take photos of the groups with digital cameras. As a result, there are opportunities for children to access information and communication technology experiences, although there is scope for this aspect of learning to be enhanced. Visitors the setting, such the police with a car, help children to learn about people in the community who can help them. However, the nursery staff and managers have not further enriched their provision by incorporating short local outings for children into the educational programmes, for example, to local shops or post boxes.

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who attend

Parents are encouraged to contribute to children's learning because staff send home 'weekend sheets' for parents to write what children have done during their time away from the nursery. They are also provided with 'balloons' with the frequent newsletters on which they can write comments about their children's learning, the nursery or suggestions for activities. When children's learning journals are sent home at regular points throughout the year, parents are also asked to make written comments about their children's progress, in order to better inform staff for planning purposes. The nursery also makes some use of 'take-home toys' such as teddy bears, with diaries for parents and children to insert drawings, photos and captions. This helps parents and children to share learning experiences as well as supporting early enjoyment of literacy.

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

The nursery operates a key person system in order to support children's emotional welfare, and key persons show a consistently thorough knowledge of children, their routines and preferences. Key persons can, therefore, provide effective support for children's emotional well-being, which consequently enhances their learning. Children and babies demonstrate confidence by exploring the space and resources thoroughly. In all areas of the nursery, children developing a sense of responsibility and independence is a priority. For example, at mealtimes children in the pre-school help to set the tables before lunch, to develop learning about responsibility. Children learn to manage their own needs for drinks by having ongoing access to drinking water through the day. This is because they choose to take drinks based on recognition of their own needs.

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

Children's behaviour is good throughout and they use resources safely, showing regard for their own safety and that of others. Staff make effective use of strategies, such as distraction, in order to help young children learn to manage their feelings and behaviour. Deployment of staff at all times of the day supports children's learning and welfare effectively, and ratios of staff to children are frequently better than legally required. Resources and toys are highly accessible indoors and out, covering the breadth of the areas of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Consequently, children develop independence because they can make decisions about what to play with. Children's welfare is well protected by a highly comprehensive range of parental permissions. The nursery provides an outdoor play environment which gives children opportunities to take reasonable risk in their play, with careful supervision. For example, children can balance

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

on tree trunk steps and run across a variety of surfaces, such as cobblestones and low bridges. This enables children to enjoy exercise outdoors and learn about the benefits of this as part of a healthy lifestyle. Staff are all qualified in paediatric first aid in order to deal quickly with any emergencies of this type. Food is prepared on the premises and children can make choices from a healthy range of options, supporting their enjoyment of a balanced diet.

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

Children show a good level of self-care and are learning to manage a variety of aspects of personal hygiene appropriate to their age and stage. For example, staff encourage children to be independent when getting ready to brush their teeth after lunch. As a result, children have opportunities to learn effective hygiene routines. All areas of the nursery are clean and well maintained to help prevent the spread of any germs. Robust, practical safety measures are in place to help prevent accidents. There is a secure entry system requiring use of an intercom at the main door, which is controlled by owners or managers in the upstairs office. Cameras also are used to monitor who enters the nursery car park as additional security. Parents can reassure themselves regarding their children's welfare by using the nursery website to see real-time footage of their children during the times that they attend. This is through the use of a password system and the provider has

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

incorporated a 'time-out' feature so that the parent is automatically logged out after a few minutes. This helps to prevents unauthorised access to the images, protecting confidentiality.

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

Staff in the baby room build babies' language development through the use of action songs and rhyme times. This particularly helps language development for those whose learning is facilitated when they can move, as well as sing, watch or listen. Staff take care to inform children and babies about care routines that are required, such as nappy changes, in order to maintain their emotional well-being and dignity. They talk to them during these times, to make further use of the opportunity to develop children's communication and language. The times when children change room within the nursery are well managed, with discussion with parents to support children during this. A highly flexible approach, which is based on the needs of the individual child, is taken at all times, to maintain children's emotional well-being. Highly comprehensive information to support children's good health and well-being is effectively kept and maintained from when

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

children join the setting, in order to meet children's individual needs, such as dietary requirements. This is regularly updated in order to continue to meet children's needs effectively. Care plans for children with additional health needs are regularly reviewed as information is received from parents or other professionals, in order to meet their needs. These are incorporated into children's plans for learning, such as to support their development of coordination and strength. The nursery manager is proactive in passing on information with parents' permission to settings that children move on to, including full- time school, in order to support continuity of learning and well-being.

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provision

Risk assessments and safety checks are detailed and reviewed yearly or more often, to enable children to play safely and freely in all permitted areas. Staff have a comprehensive understanding of how to manage any concerns they may have about a child's welfare due to regular training from external providers. The owners, managers and staff are checked and vetted for suitability to work with children. Procedures for recruitment and induction are rigorous, in order to ensure that children are protected and an effective staff team is maintained. All documentation related to statutory requirements is complete to support the safe and effective running of the setting, including a policy for the safe use of devices with cameras on the premises, such as mobile phones. A comprehensive range of policies and procedures are used to maintain a high standard of care and learning for all children in the nursery. For example, the procedures by which staff record and report any

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provision

accidents which occur to children are robust because they make a written report and also inform parents by telephone as soon as possible. Responsibilities of staff and managers are very clearly defined to ensure that they have a good understanding of how to carry out their roles to a high standard. For example, there are two deputy managers who each have responsibility for the upstairs and downstairs rooms, and prompt cards are displayed around the nursery to remind staff of what constitutes good practice.

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provision

Staff plan educational programmes firmly based on the needs of individual children and groups of children. These provide good levels of challenge appropriate to their age and stage of development, so that children's progress is well supported. There are thorough systems in place which are regularly used to monitor the quality and consistency of observations, planning and assessment of children's learning. This means that good practice to support children's learning is maintained throughout the nursery. The staff's quality of teaching is monitored through daily ongoing observations by the manager as she is supernumerary to ratio requirements. Hence, she spends time each day in rooms giving feedback to staff about their observed practice and modelling effective practice for them. This enables any perceived underperformance to be quickly tackled so that staff are clear about the high standards expected from them, when working to support children's

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provision

development. Staff are supported to identify areas where they would like more training through regular meetings and also through their six-weekly supervision meetings. This helps them to provide an enhanced level of care and learning for children by developing their professional knowledge and skills.

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provision

The nursery has good partnerships with parents, who praise it particularly for the care and enthusiasm shown by the staff. Partnership working with other agencies and professionals is effective, in order to maintain support for the range of needs of children attending the nursery. Parents contribute to the nursery's development, both through verbal and written means, in order to contribute to the drive for continuous improvement. Staff have frequent opportunities to share information for the evaluation process with the owners and manager at regular meetings. For example, staff help to write the nursery's self- evaluation with managers, using the Ofsted tool for this. This means that they can make a contribution to enhancing the provision for children's learning and care. Overall, there is a positive and inclusive approach to bringing about continual enhancement of practice within the nursery.

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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 EY369022 Local authority Salford Inspection number 950431

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 72 Number of children on roll 79 Name of provider Miss Anne Bega and Miss Louise Bega Partnership Date of previous inspection 15/04/2010 Telephone number 01617286036

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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

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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