Ottertots Day Care Nursery

Ottertots Day Care Nursery Hulham Road, Exmouth, EX8 5DX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/02/2014 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

 Children enjoy their play experiences in the nursery's stimulating and welcoming environment.  Children are eager to learn and have a good range of toys and resources to choose from.  Children's health and well-being needs are well supported. They enjoy healthy snacks and meals that are freshly cooked on the premises.  Staff form effective partnerships with parents and other professionals. They meet children's individual needs well and regularly share their progress.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff occasionally miss opportunities to extend children's mathematical understanding during their play experiences.  Some daily routines provide limited scope for children to develop independence.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children in both the indoor and outside environments.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the proprietors, members of staff and some parents.  The inspector undertook a joint observation of an activity with the proprietor.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled children's assessment records and the nursery's policies and procedures.

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Information about the setting

Ottertots Day Care Nursery registered in 2013 and is a privately owned provision. The nursery operates from a purpose built building in Exmouth. There is an enclosed outdoor play area for children, with an adjoining woodland area. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 135 children on roll within the early years age group. Children attend on either a full-time or part-time basis during the week. The nursery is in receipt of funding for free nursery education for children aged two-, three- and four years old. It is open Monday to Friday from 7.45am to 6pm, all year round, except for one week in December. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who are learning English as an additional language. It also offers 'Stay and Play' sessions for parents and carers to attend. The nursery employs 16 staff

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Information about the setting

members to work directly with the children. Fourteen staff members have appropriate childcare qualifications.

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

 strengthen the mathematical programme further to extend children's understanding during they play.

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

 extend the consistency of opportunities for the older children to develop independence during their daily routines

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who attend

Children have an extremely bright and welcoming environment in which to play. They quickly settle on arrival and engage in their chosen play. This shows that they feel safe and secure. There is a 'key person' system in place to help children to learn as they play. The staff have a secure understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and about how children learn through play. Staff provide a good balance of child-initiated and adult-led activities. They use observations and assessment systems effectively to monitor the progress the children are making. Additionally, these help staff to plan for children's next steps in learning and development. Children confidently choose what they would like to play with and concentrate well on their chosen task, completing it to their own satisfaction. However, at times, staff do not always engage and make the most use of these opportunities to promote children's early mathematical understanding as they play.

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who attend

Children have a large outside play area to explore and investigate. The children enjoy walking in the nearby woods and looking for toy animals that the staff hide for them to find. The garden is an area of current development, to extend the learning opportunities for children during outside play. Staff take children to see nearby animals, such as rabbits and Shetland ponies. Children recall their recent learning experiences as they play. For example during role-play outside they enjoy acting out a favourite story. The children are making good progress in their language development and confidently comment on the weather saying 'the wind is strong'. They are keen to explore and investigate during outside play, and competently use a range of resources, such as magnifying glasses.

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who attend

Children enjoy musical opportunities, such as singing and action songs. They learn to be confident to express themselves at registration time and during 'Show and tell' sessions. Children happily share what they have bought in from home with their friends. The children are inquisitive and ask questions such as 'what does it do' to clarify their understanding. Speaking in a group effectively supports children's self esteem and ability to express their own thoughts and ideas. Babies have a very caring and homely room to play in. Staff use sign language with the children. This helps all children to communicate. Staff meet the needs of babies' well by the providing individual routines that match their needs. The organisation of the room is good, providing a vibrant learning environment which promotes early learning and development experiences well. Babies learn to explore from a young age. For example, they enjoy investigating treasure baskets, and sensory

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who attend

materials. There is a no shoe policy throughout the nursery for children and staff. This means that all children can play safely on clean floors.

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who attend

The older children have easy access to pens, pencils and crayons to promote their early writing skills. They engage enthusiastically in role-play and enjoy a wide range of craft activities, which include fruit and vegetable printing. They learn to handle scissors carefully and take a pride in their work and achievements. Children learn about the wider world by celebrating festivals throughout the year with the staff. They go on visits to the beach and to see the life boat station. This helps them to learn about the local community and about people who help us.

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who attend

The nursery invites parents and carers to attend with their child for 'Stay and Play' sessions. Parents value these times, because they give them the opportunity to sit with their child at snack time, to play alongside their child and to meet with the staff. The children equally delight in these together times, as they can engage in play with their parents and show them what they can do. Children are making positive progress in learning the skills that they need in readiness for starting school.

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

The nursery's provision effectively helps to support children's well-being. The children settle quickly and are happy and secure. They are familiar with the routines for the day. Children become confident in their own self-care from a young age and confidently get themselves ready to go outside to play. They receive plenty of praise and encouragement. This effectively helps to support their self-esteem. The staff are consistent in how they deal with any unacceptable behaviour. For example, they give children stickers to promote positive behaviour. Children put them on their reward charts with pride. Consequently, children learn how to behave very well. They know to listen when staff clap their hands and respond appropriately. They learn to share and take turns and to be thoughtful and kind to each other as they play. They eagerly help at tidy-up-time, putting the toys away carefully.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children's individual dietary needs. Children enjoy the healthy meals that are cooked freshly on the premises each day. Meal times are social occasions and children are familiar with the routines to wash their hands. At snack times, the children find their own name and choose where they would like to sit, which effectively promotes their independence. The children confidently help themselves to a cup and a plate from the cupboard. The staff sit alongside the children at snack times to promote their social skills and manners. The children confidently learn to pour their own drinks. However, the organisation of lunch time meals provides less opportunities for children to develop independent responsibility. For example, staff serve out all the meals to older children and younger children have either a spoon or a fork and no opportunity to use both simultaneously. Staff do sit with the children at lunch time to give assistance

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

when the children when necessary, such as helping to open packaging for those children who have sandwiches.

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

Staff plan activities that help children to learn about good health. The nursery has a purpose built soft ball play area indoors. This enables staff to be able to promote children's physical development at all times. This particularly supports healthy exercise for those children who are less keen to play outside. Children have fresh air every day at regular times and older children can choose to play indoors or outside. Staff supervise children well at all times; staff say when they are leaving a room to alert other staff. This helps to ensure children's safety. Children learn about keeping themselves and each other safe as they play. These skills effectively support their readiness for school.

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provision

The leadership and management is strong. The proprietors have made considerable improvement to the provision in a short time since their registration. The staff work well as a team and gain much from each other's skills and experience. There are secure systems in place to monitor children's safe arrival and departure. Staff complete daily checks of all the areas that the children use and complete comprehensive risk assessments. This helps to ensure a safe environment for children to play in. Staff have regular supervision and appraisals meetings with the management to monitor their performance and to identify any additional training needs. Rigorous induction procedures are in place to ensure that staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities. The nursery shares its good range of comprehensive policies and procedures with parents, so they have a clear understanding about safeguarding and welfare requirements.

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provision

The staff attend regular safeguarding training and are clear of the procedure to follow in the event of a child protection concern. Staff practise regular fire drills with the children, so they gain an understanding of the procedure to follow in the event of an emergency. Staff are vigilant in recording visitors to the nursery and children's attendance. These procedures provide a clear record of who is in the nursery at any one time.

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provision

The nursery has good partnerships with parents and provides them with comprehensive information about their child's day and the progress they are making. Staff exchange information on a daily basis with parents and send home daily diaries. Regular parents' evenings enable discussions about all aspects of children's progress and are good opportunities to share children's assessment records and future learning targets. These systems also effectively help to promote continuity of care. The nursery has good links with outside agencies and other settings that children attend, which effectively helps children's smooth transfers between their educational phases.

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provision

The proprietors have high expectations of the standard of care they aim to provide. This helps to ensure that all children make good progress and that their individual needs are met. Leaders and managers constantly review and evaluate their service. Staff meet regularly to share good practice and to monitor the provision, which helps to drive forward the nursery's improvement and maintain good outcomes for all children. In a recent questionnaire, parents provide very positive feedback on the nursery's provision.

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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 EY466500 Local authority Devon Inspection number 926314 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 60 Number of children on roll 135 Name of provider Ottertots Limited Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01395 271987

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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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