Little Nippers Childcare Ltd

Little Nippers Childcare Mudge Way, Plympton, Plymouth, Devon, PL7 2AQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/11/2013 23/04/2013

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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

 Children are very confident as staff provide an environment where they feel safe and secure.  Key staff support children well as they know their individual needs well.  Staff provide activities to effectively promote babies and young children's communication skills.  Staff have a thorough understanding of child protection issues, procedures and policies. This means that they are well placed to protect children in their care.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 At times staff do not provide enough resources during planned activities to enable all children who wish to take part the opportunity to do so at the same time.  The noise levels in the pre-school area occasionally become very loud, which can make it difficult for children to hold conversations and hear each other.

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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 compulsory part 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 has discussions with the owner, staff and parents.  The inspector took a joint observation with the owner.  The inspector sampled a range of policies.  The inspector observed children's activities in all rooms.

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Information about the setting

Little Nippers Childcare Limited registered in 2012 and operates from a detached house in Mudge Way, Plympton, near Plymouth. The under two area is on the ground floor and the two-three's area is on the first floor. The pre-school children have their own separate building at the back of the house. An enclosed garden area is used for outdoor play activities. The nursery is open each week day from 7am until 6pm for 51 weeks of the year. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. There are currently 55 children on roll in the early year's age group. The setting receives nursery education funding for two, - three- and four-year-old children. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about the setting

There are 15 employed members of childcare staff, 13 of whom hold an appropriate childcare qualification. The owner has Early Years Practitioner Status.

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

 develop the organisation of resources to ensure there are enough readily available to fully support all children during adult led activities

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

 address high noise levels in the pre-school room to further aid and promote children's concentration levels

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who attend

Children make good progress in their learning and development as staff provide an interesting range of activities which cover all areas of learning. Children are happy and are supported by staff who engage them overall in lots of stimulating activities. Changes introduced by the owner have further improved the staff's understanding of how to assess children's progress and plan for their next steps in their learning. This is well documented so that there is limited disruption to individual children's learning and development if there are any staff changes. Initial details obtained from parents and through observations conducted by staff during children's settling in sessions provide key staff with clear information to effectively plan for individual children from the start. Staff demonstrate a good understanding about the requirements to asses the progress of two year old children. They share this with parents to encourage them to further support their child's

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who attend

development at home. Staff encourage children's development of language well. For example, a baby is fascinated by a textured book and the member of staff reading with the baby introduces words such as 'sparkly' 'sheep.' She develops this further by introducing the 'sign' for sheep. Staff also promote forms of communication other than speaking, to further develop children's communication skills.

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who attend

Staff skillfully promote children's personal social and emotional development. For example, staff respect and support children's choices. When a child who has recently moved into the room requests to play in the ball pool area, staff support this choice to the child's great delight. Staff then praise the child and are enthusiastic as they child succeeds in jumping in and climbing out. Children throughout the nursery are confident. Staff promote and value children's interests by responding to their ideas and encouraging their choices. For example, they develop and encourage children's imaginative play as children pretend there are 'monsters' in the room. Staff pose questions 'what can we do?', allowing children time to consider their actions, initially hunt for large cushions to hide behind, then chase the monster away. This also supports children's problem solving and thinking skills.

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who attend

Older children are good communicators; they confidently ask questions during a story session. Staff respond quickly to children's requests for example, happily read additional stories to those wanting more, whilst others go off to seek alternative play opportunities. Groups of children thread or construct using small items, they spontaneously and accurately describe position, size, shape and number. However, at times within the pre- school room the noise levels are loud and it is hard for children to speak to each other or fully concentrate at these times.

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who attend

Children enjoy share their learning journals, fondly reminiscing with staff and each other, at photographs and past activities. This supports them to develop a strong sense of things they have achieved. Staff teach children about the world around them. For example, children share in talking about the activity of making 'bat' boxes for the garden. Staff state this involved support from a parent, demonstrating that they encourage parents to join in activities in the nursery.

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

Children, throughout the nursery are confident, happy and content. The key staff know their children well. For example, younger children cuddle into staff giving them time to 'come to' following their sleep. Staff effectively provide support and reassurance to allow children to explore resources in the new sensory area. Staff in the baby room share how they have been encouraging children's physical development and enthusiastically share a child's recent achievements of crawling. Staff plan with parents when it is in the best interest for the child to move up to the next area. Clear plans are put in place to enable children to feel secure as they progress through the nursery. For example, parents are informed of their child's move a month before it is likely to happen, they are introduced to their child's new key person and children go for short visits to the new rooms with their key staff. This helps children to become familiar with the room, new staff and resources.

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

This supports their emotional security. Children respond well to the consistent praise from staff and as a result, their behaviour is good. Staff provide support and gently explain to enable younger children to share the resources. For example by saying 'we need to share our toys at nursery with our friends' to help children understand and take turns.

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

Staff teach children about healthy lifestyles as they play, at snack and meals times and during planned activities. For example, staff introduce younger children to 'red and green peppers' and seek out other play foods to collect in their bags. The nursery provides cooked lunch time meals, snacks consist of range of fresh fruit and vegetable sticks and dips. Children sit with staff in their dedicated rooms to eat meals. Staff promote and encourage children to feed and serve themselves all of which further supports their independence and social skills.

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

Children within the pre-school area are able to freely and safely move between the areas. Areas in the younger children's rooms although are sectioned off to maintain their safety still provide plenty of space and opportunity for children to freely explore. The resources in all rooms are stored and visible to the children, helping them to make their own choices as they play. However, the organisation of the adult planned activity in the two to three room did not always have enough resources readily accessible to allow all children to fully take part, straight away.

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

Children learn about keeping healthy through routines practices. For example, staff promote children's understanding of hand washing to remove germs when coming in from outside and before sitting down to eat. All children use the outdoor area on a daily basis. As a result, children are provided with opportunities to promote their good health and physical skills as they climb and balance. Children learn how to keep themselves safe through planned topics such as wearing protective goggles using hammers and nails as well as practising regular fire evacuations.

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provision

An early inspection took place following notification from the provider relating to an allegation against a member of staff. At inspection the owner was able to demonstrate she was now clear in her procedures and timescales of when she needs to notify Ofsted. She and her staff take positive steps to ensure children remain safe. She has risk assessed practices within the nursery environment and made improvements to reducing the risk of harm to children. All staff are confident in their knowledge of the nursery's procedures as the owner provides opportunities to secure their knowledge through training and at staff meetings. As a result, staff are aware of their responsibilities in safeguarding children. However, the setting notified Ofsted of the allegation outside of the required 14 day period and Ofsted issued a warning letter to the provider.

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provision

The owner has clear procedures with regards to recruitment of staff to ensure they are suitable to care for children. Regular supervision and appraisals conducted by her management team identify any training needs and ensure staff continue to remain suitable to work in the nursery. Systems are in place to ensure there are enough staff working directly with children in each room. Management have back up systems in place to maintain this practice in the event of a staff shortage.

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provision

Staff meetings occur on a regular basis to evaluate their practice and drive improvement. These are used to discuss and share current practices and the nursery's development plan. For example, there are plans to change the rooms around in the baby area and to make better use of the 'messy area' in the two-three year old room. Key staff use planning and observations to effectively build on children's interests, to support their next steps for learning and to track their progress.

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provision

Management conduct regular supervision sessions for staff, which are used to identify achievements and assess any additional training needs to further aid improvement. Systems are in place to monitor all staff practice and this is also supported by appraisals. The owner and her staff are enthusiastic and keen. For example, having made improvements to the outdoor area, a recommendation raised at the nursery's last inspection, staff are keen to continue to develop this area further to make greater use of it for all the children.

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provision

Parents receive regular information through discussions with key staff and the sharing of topics and learning journals. The owner, with agreement from parents, shares information with and has developed working partnerships with other early years settings that some children attend to provide consistency in the child's learning and development.

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provision

Staff with overall responsibility for supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities ensure that children are supported well. Parents spoken to are very positive, they comment how approachable, supportive and friendly all the staff are.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY454562 Local authority Plymouth Inspection number 924915 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 62 Number of children on roll 56 Name of provider Little Nippers Childcare Limited Date of previous inspection 23/04/2013 Telephone number 01752348088

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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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