Yellow Brick Road Daycare

Yellow Brick Road Daycare High Street, METHERINGHAM, Lincoln, LN4 3EA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16/01/2014 19/07/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Teaching is purposeful and takes full account of children's individual next steps in learning. Activities are planned and delivered well and help all children to make good progress in their learning.  Children are secure, confident and independent learners who form strong bonds with staff and develop positive self-esteem.  The leadership and management is strong. Safeguarding is prioritised in all aspects of the nursery. Ongoing improvements are driven well through purposeful targets that benefit the children.  Partnerships with parents are firmly established. Staff fully involve parents in their child's learning and seek their views about nursery initiatives.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Children in the toddler room recently have less opportunity to use a computer to develop their wider learning about information and communication technology.  Partnerships with schools that children attend do not yet fully enable the nursery to support children and consolidate the learning that takes place at school.

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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 had a tour of the premises and observed activities in all the playrooms and the outside learning environment.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector held meetings with the manager of the provision.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with children, the provider's self-evaluation from and improvement plan.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day and from information included in the setting's own parent survey.

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Information about the setting

Yellow Brick Road Daycare Nursery was registered in 2012 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in the village of Metheringham, Linconshire. It is privately owned and managed. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from renovated premises, which provides separate rooms for babies, toddlers, pre-school children and the kids club. There are enclosed areas available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 19 members of childcare staff. Of these, 14 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, including one member of staff who has completed the new Early Years Nursery Teacher qualification. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting offers care to children aged over five years, providing care before school, after school and during school holidays. There are currently 121 children on roll, of whom, 72 are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. 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:

 organise more opportunities for children in the toddler room to use a computer to further enhance the existing learning that takes place about the different uses of information and communication technology

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

 strengthen partnerships with schools around children's individual learning and next steps to enable nursery staff to provide children with support that consolidates the learning that takes place at school.

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who attend

Staff are skilful practitioners, who have a good knowledge of the seven areas of learning. The effectiveness of staffs' teaching is consistently strong throughout the nursery. They understand that children learn in different ways and at different rates, and provide a good balance of adult-planned and child-initiated activities to enable this. Staff know the children well and reflect each child's uniqueness through the purposeful next steps that they raise to help move each child on in their learning. Next steps are used well to inform planning and are covered in many different ways by staff to consolidate what children learn before they add new challenges. This gives children time to absorb what they are learning and to practise their new skills through a variety of experiences. It gives staff the opportunity to make accurate assessments of the progress that each child is making and to establish where additional time or support is needed. Staff are also skilled at

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who attend

incorporating the interests and next steps of several children through one planned activity. For example, a member of staff knows that a child has a particular interest in making dens and exploring spaces. Another child shows curiosity about size, showing an interest in early mathematical concepts. Another child likes singing, which links in well with language development and creative expression. The member of staff plans a camping activity and provides the children with resources to make different sized tents and dens. The children make an imitation camp fire with sticks they have gathered and enjoy singing songs sitting round this in a circle. Through this fun activity, the children explore and talk about the different spaces and sizes. They use their imaginations and physical skills well to make the tents and dens, learning to work together as a cooperative team. They sing songs and have good opportunities to use language as they are asked relevant questions by the

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who attend

This is a very well-resourced nursery that is organised effectively and enables children to access resources of their choice and use them in imaginative ways. Learning is structured well so that children benefit from small group activities in the morning, which centres around different aspects of focused learning and is followed by free play. Staff plan focused learning well, taking account of the different ages and stages of the children. Babies enjoy a great deal of sensory play, for example, sitting on the floor with staff exploring water. They use sieves to pour water through and containers to gather water in. They enjoy splashing, floating items and sinking items. Babies have their resources stored in baskets on the floor so they can access them independently and continuously explore and experiment in their learning. Toddlers and pre-school children learn about numbers, phonics, early writing through making marks, shapes, colours and early mathematical

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who attend

concepts. Staff work with small groups of children providing good levels of support and guidance. They ask children open questions that promote children's critical thinking, which in turn, helps children to remember things as they have to consider their responses and find solutions. Children enjoy building with train tracks, and it is noticeable how they progress from simple construction in the toddler room to more complex construction by the time they are in the pre-school room. All children develop their understating of technology well. This starts in the baby room with push-button toys, torches, musical sounds and cameras, for example. As children grow they use magnifying glasses, magnets, microphones and compact disc players independently. Children in the pre-school room have good access to computers and develop their competency with mouse control, clicking and dragging well. However, a recent refurbishment of the nursery means that the

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who attend

children in the toddler room now have less opportunity to use a computer than they previously did. The impact of this is not significant because they can be taken to the computer suite, however, it does reduce their self-initiated choice and the potential for children to develop their computer skills to the maximum. Since the last inspection a great deal of further work has also taken place to the environment outdoors. This was raised as an area to develop at the last inspection and has been met well. Children now have enhanced opportunities outdoors to engage in a wider range of activities that promote all areas of learning. This includes the babies who have their own area in which to play, for safety. New plastic weather curtains have been fitted to the doors so that doors can be left open to provide continuous access to the outdoors. Parents are fully involved in their children's learning through sharing information on their

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who attend

progress and achievements. This is achieved well through the weekend learning sheets that staff give to parents to complete. Parents are able to keep staff informed of anything special that has taken place, for example, an achievement or new interest their child has developed, or a special event that their child has been involved in. Parents have good opportunities to talk to key staff on a daily basis about their child's learning and ways in which they can support them further at home. Staff organise open days for parents where they can see learning taking place and discus this further with staff. Parents have continuous access to planning, observations, assessments and achievements their child has made. Staff keep them well infomred about the progress their child is making and provide learning resources for parents to take home to continue their child's learning if they wish. The progress check at age two includes parents and informs them about their

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who attend

child's development in the three prime areas of learning. It is used well to identify any gaps in learning at an early stage so that swift action can be taken. All children are gaining the skills and confidence, which they need to be ready for the next steps in learning as they start school. By the time the children leave the nursery they are well prepared for their future learning at school.

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

Children settle well in the nursery and quickly form strong attachments with their assigned key person and other members of staff. Staff establish strong relationships with parents before the placement starts by gathering comprehensive information about their child's individual care needs and development. They provide parents with good quality information so that they are confident about leaving their child. This has a positive impact on how secure children feel when they are left. Settling-in visits greatly contribute to the success of the separation and attachment process as these ease children's transitions from home to the nursery. Staff use the information they gather from parents well, alongside their planning for the three prime areas of learning, to ensure a strong base is established for future learning. Babies are particularly well supported with their nappy changing, sleep and meal routines. Staff keep detailed records of all nappy changes, sleep routines and

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

what each baby has eaten. A member of staff is designated to supervise babies and any child who sleeps during the day to ensure that all children's safety and well-being is prioritised. These routines fully support children's transition from home to nursery and prepare them well emotionally for their future transitions.

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

Children develop a strong base for independence, learning and exploration. Children's understanding of acceptable behaviour is promoted well through the use of praise and encouragement. All staff have a very good understanding of how to promote their expectations for positive behaviour to children. They all interact very well with children and are good role models who help to develop children's social understanding, cooperation and understanding that actions have consequences. They achieve this by implementing consistent routines with which children are familiar, having realistic and achievable rules that children understand and by ensuring continuity of these throughout the nursery. As a result, children behave well and are enthusiastic, motivated learners. Children learn the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle very well. All children have daily outdoor play or are taken for walks where they benefit from fresh air. Children have

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

lots of exercise that promotes their physical development well. Children are extremely well nourished through balanced snacks and hot meals that are provided by the nursery. Children eat together at tables with the staff and learn positive social skills. Children's self- care skills are promoted well, for example, babies progress well with learning how to feed themselves. Children in the toddler room and pre-school room serve their own meals and pour their own drinks. As children grow they learn to use the toilet independently and how to dress themselves for outdoor play. They develop a good understanding of safety rules, such as not running indoors, lining up to go outside and the importance of being kind, helpful and listing well to what is being said. They develop their understanding of risks and managing safety further, for example, road safety when they are taken out and about. They follow clear rules for safety and know why they wear high visibility vests to

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

keep them safe. They practise emergency evacuation in the nursery and learn how to exit the premises quickly in an organised fashion. Staff focus well on ensuring that children are emotionally prepared for school. They help children to become increasingly responsible and develop positive self-esteem and confidence so that they are independent, capable learners.

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provision

Leadership and management of the nursery is effective and fully ensures that safeguarding children is prioritised in all aspects of nursery organisation. Recruitment procedures ensure that staff have appropriate qualifications, skills and experience for their role and that they are vetted for their suitability to work with children. All staff have completed safeguarding training and have good knowledge of how to protect children. Managers ensure that the staffs' knowledge of safeguarding is continuously explored through their supervision and appraisal sessions, staff meetings and quizzes. The nursery has a comprehensive range of policies and procedures that staff translate effectively into practice. Thorough risk assessments, including for all outings and trips, are in place and any identified risks are successfully minimised through effective safety measures. Staff supervision is vigilant and is enabled well, because staff-to-child ratios exceed

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provision

expectations and staff deployment is good. Staff deployment is focused on particularly well for school runs where children are walked through the village. At least three, often four members of staff are present when walking children to or from school. Staff are spaced along the line to ensure that children always have a member of staff nearby and that crossing the road is safe. All staff and children wear high visibility vests so that they can be clearly seen and a set route, that has been fully risk assessed, is followed every day. The nursery has ensured that robust procedures are in place with the school for the delivery and collection of children that the nursery are responsible for.

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provision

The management and staff team have worked hard since the last inspection. They have enhanced many aspects of the nursery including improving the outdoor area that was raised at the previous inspection. The outdoor area has been enhanced through a wider range of resources and by improving the use of the available space. This impacts well on all children as babies have their own outdoor area and the toddlers and pre-school children have further opportunities to be creative in their play. The managers and staff share a commitment towards providing good quality childcare. All staff fully understand the importance of continuous development in order to enhance standards and evaluate practice, identifying areas of strength and those to develop. This is a motivated staff team who work together very well and also independently by taking personal responsibility for the effectiveness of their individual roles. Targets for driving improvements are prioritised

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provision

well and give full consideration to the benefit they have for children. Since the last inspection the nursery has been extended to provide children with more space and under floor heating has been installed, which enhances floor play experiences. Inherited resources and furniture have been replaced with new, good quality resources that enhance learning for children. Self-evaluation includes the views of staff, children and parents. Views are also proactively sought through daily discussions, comments sheets and a parent forum. Effective systems are in place to monitor and support staff performance in order to enhance their skills and achieve improved outcomes for children. The manager also maintains an overview of how staff implement the educational programme to monitor the effectiveness of teaching and learning. Records of training needs are maintained so that staff remain current with safeguarding matters and

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provision

paediatric first aid training to effectively promote children's safety, welfare and well-being. Regular staff appraisals and supervision identify further training needs or requests for training that staff feel will enhance their practice. Staff training is proactive and many courses, both mandatory updates, and specialised courses, have taken place since the last inspection. This ensures that staff have diverse skills within the nursery that provides good quality teaching and learning for children. The nursery has well-qualified and experienced staff with a high staff retention. Staff demonstrate commitment and drive to improving their qualifications. For example, since the last inspection one member of staff has completed an early years teaching qualification and another member of staff has started an early years degree. Staff share their teaching practice and this impacts positively on the quality of learning that is provided to children. The good quality of teaching prepares

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provision

children well for future school learning.

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provision

Effective partnerships between other professionals, staff, parents and carers mean that children's health, education and welfare are supported well. There is a minor weakness with the information that the nursery currently gathers from the school about the learning that takes place for children in the early years age group. This does not fully support children's continuity in learning, because staff cannot help consolidate learning or aid progress around any next steps that have been identified. In spite of this, staff have good relationships with the school and have set up link books with the intention of gathering and sharing this information between them. The nursery provides the school with information about children's progress when children leave the nursery and they welcome visits from reception class teachers, which aids transition. Parents are kept very well informed about the provision, planning and all aspects of their children's achievements

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provision

and progress. For example, noticeboards, regular newsletters and information about topics, activities and how parents can further support learning at home, contributes well to helping children make good progress. Parents have very positive views about the nursery and are complimentary about the progress their children make. Parents spoken to say that they particularly like the homely environment and that the staff are genuinely interested in their child as an individual. They say they feel fully included in nursery initiatives and are kept very well informed about their child's learning and welfare. New parents feel reassured that their children are happy when they return to work. They appreciate the phone calls that staff make to reassure them in the early days and the photographs staff take of their child at play, which enables them to be part of their child's experiences and see how happy their child is at the setting.

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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 EY442391 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 949212

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 63 Number of children on roll 121 Name of provider Yellow Brick Road Daycare Ltd Date of previous inspection 19/07/2012 Telephone number 01526 321094

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Type of provision

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises, which are usually the childminder’s own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children,

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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