Rackets Pre-School Nursery

Rackets Pre-School Nursery E.A.L.T.S, 14A Westbourne Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands, B15 3TR

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26/02/2014 29/03/2011

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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

 All staff fully understand their role in safeguarding children. They provide a high quality early years setting which is welcoming, stimulating and safe and where all necessary steps are taken to protect children's welfare.  Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff work hard to ensure there is a joint approach to children's care and learning. Children are well supported, enabling them to be happy and enjoy the time they spend at nursery.  The manager and staff team make good use of self-evaluation and ongoing training to build upon their good practice. This ensures that children continue to benefit from the improvements made.  Staff are skilled in providing care that meets children's specific needs, ensuring that all children are making good progress in respect of their individual starting points.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There are occasions when some staff miss opportunities to extend children's speech, language and communication skills through asking open-ended questions.  There is scope to further develop the learning environment in the baby room, so that younger children are able to independently explore and engage in more stimulating activities to enhance their development.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed all areas accessed by children, including the outdoor environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed teaching and learning activities in the nursery and spoke to staff and children at appropriate times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector met with the manager and staff team, looked at children's development records, evidence of the suitability and qualifications of staff and a range of other policies and procedures, including the self-evaluation form.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day of the inspection.  The inspector carried out joint observations with the manager.

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Information about the setting

Rackets Pre-School Nursery opened in 1990 and was registered in 2000. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is situated in the club house of Edgbaston Archery and Lawn Tennis Club and operates from four rooms within the building. The nursery serves the immediate locality and also the surrounding areas. The nursery opens five days a week, between 9am and 3pm, during term time only. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There is an enclosed play area available for outdoor play and the nursery also has its own entrance in to the Botanical Gardens. They make daily use of a children's play area within the gardens and the associated facilities.

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Information about the setting

A maximum of 32 children may attend the setting at any one time. There are currently 67 children in the early years age range on roll, who attend for different sessions. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four- year-olds. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children for whom English is an additional language.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 10 staff working directly with children. One member of staff holds Qualified Teacher Status, three members of staff hold qualifications at level 4 and above, five members of staff hold a qualification at level 3 and one member of staff holds a qualification at level 2. The nursery also offers regular placements for students and receives support from the local authority.

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

 reflect on and further develop ways to strengthen the use of open-ended questions to significantly enhance children's speech, language and communication skills

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

 enhance the provision in the baby room to provide a stimulating and well-resourced environment to maximise opportunities for independence, engagement and challenge.

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who attend

Children are warmly welcomed into this bright and highly stimulating nursery, where their individual learning and development needs are very well met. Staff have a good knowledge of how young children learn. They observe children regularly and use this information effectively to plan creative and imaginative experiences that meet their individual needs, both in the indoor and outdoor environment. As a result, children make good progress in their learning and development. Each area of learning and development is implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a balance of child-initiated and adult-led activity. Staff place a strong emphasis on children leading their own play. For example, older children use the open plan layout of the rooms, which enables them to move from room to room or outdoors in a resourceful nursery. As a result, children freely explore their environment, develop confidence in solving their own problems and enjoy

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who attend

interacting with others around them. Within the newly introduced baby room, younger children benefit from the positive interactions of staff, who get down to the children's level by sitting on the floor to engage in their play. However, the range of equipment and resources for this age group are more basic and do not provide children with the additional stimulation and challenge needed to maximise their learning and development.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is good. Where teaching is very good staff engage pre-school children in oral storytelling sessions, enhancing their communication skills exceptionally well. Staffs introduce unfamiliar words in a narrative context and allow children to share their own ideas. They use different voices and intonation when they read stories to children and encourage them to join in wherever possible. This helps children to listen with increasing attention and show interest in illustrations and print in books. However, where staff are less confident, there are sometimes missed opportunities for the effective use of open-ended questions to engage children in sustained conversations and enhance their range of vocabulary. Staff collect learning and development information from parents when children first begin attending the nursery. This is used to inform the initial assessments and allows them to support children's individual needs. Children are provided

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who attend

with good opportunities to develop their mathematical skills. For example, staff count as children line up to go outside. As a result, children incorporate early counting and mathematical vocabulary into their everyday play-based learning, preparing them very well for school when the time comes. Staff support young children and babies' language very well. They regularly read to children and involve them in the story by asking them direct questions and using new words and phrases. For example, children respond to questions, such as 'Is this a pig?' and 'Oh dear where has it gone?' as they explore the story together. Staff provide good opportunities for older children to link letters and sounds of the alphabet using flash cards. This enables children to recognise their own names, supporting their literacy development very well.

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who attend

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. This is because the nursery has more than one Special Educational Needs Coordinator, who makes good use of advice from external agencies, such as speech and language therapy services. Consequently, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are progressing very well towards the early learning goals, given their starting points. Staff demonstrate a good level of awareness of how to support children for whom English is an additional language. Parents are encouraged to share key words from home. This means children are provided with good opportunities to develop and use their home language in play and learning, which supports their language development at home.

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

Staff place an emphasis on supporting children's emotional and physical well-being. An effective key person system is in place. This ensures that all children, especially very young babies and those in need of additional support make secure emotional attachments. Good settling-in procedures are in place and children and their parents are well supported emotionally when they first begin attending the nursery. Good quality information is shared to ensure continuity in children's emotional and physical well-being. Parents are able to view documentation devised specifically to support them in leaving their child for the first time. This reassures them and further supports children emotionally during times of transition. Children are equally well supported when they move from the nursery and into local schools. They make visits with their key person to school and teachers from the school are encouraged to visit the nursery. Summaries of children's development are

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

shared, which helps to improve communication and coordination between professionals, staff and families.

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

Children access the outdoor environment regularly throughout the day and benefit from the large spaces available to them. They also access the Botanical Gardens daily where children engage in challenging and enjoyable experiences. For example, balancing carefully on the large apparatus and playing chase in between different play equipment. This enhances their physical well-being and ensures they gain full benefit from being outdoors daily in the fresh air. Healthy lifestyles are further promoted when staff talk with children about the benefits of eating fresh, balanced food at mealtimes.

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

Children demonstrate safe practices as they play because staff involve them in safety procedures throughout the day and during their daily visits to the Botanical Gardens. Consequently, children understand the reasons for wearing high visibility jackets and the importance of staying within the perimeters of the play area in the Botanical Gardens. Children cooperate well with each other and know what behaviour is acceptable in the nursery. This is because a number of strategies are embedded in practice within the nursery to promote positive behaviour. For example, staff use the 'apple tree' reward chart to encourage positive behaviour and celebrate children's achievements. Children are praised for positive behaviour and spoken to in a sensitive and gentle way if disagreements arise. Staff have agreed procedures outlining how to manage changes in children's behaviour and the rationale of this is shared with parents to maintain a joint

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provision

The manager has a good understanding of her responsibilities to ensure the nursery meets the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. All staff, including students, demonstrate an extremely clear understanding of their role in safeguarding children and the nurseries safeguarding procedures. Effective recruitment and induction procedures ensure all staff have suitability checks carried out and fully understand the requirements of their role in keeping children safe from harm. The manager provides support, advice and guidance to all staff on an ongoing basis. She ensures that safeguarding practices are reviewed regularly through training and regular staff meetings.

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provision

The manager leads a well-qualified and experienced staff team. They use their skills and expertise skilfully to support children's learning and development. Staff feel supported by the manager and are helped to improve their knowledge, understanding and practice. Effective supervision and appraisal systems are in place. This provides support, coaching and training for the staff team and allows them to discuss any issues concerning individual children's development or well-being. Good systems are in place to ensure staff are deployed effectively at all times to meet the needs of children. As a result, children are well-supervised and ratios are maintained at all times. The manager has a good understanding of her role in monitoring the delivery of the educational programmes and maintains an overview of the continuous provision for children in the indoor and outdoor environments. She is well supported by her deputies and early years professional to

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provision

maintain an overview of the quality of teaching and learning provided. Observation, assessment and planning documentation is monitored effectively to make sure it is consistent and displays an accurate understanding of all children's skills, abilities and progress. The manager is supported by the skilled management team to maintain an overview of the documentation to track children's progress. This ensures children's needs are identified and well met through very good partnerships between the nursery, parents and external agencies.

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provision

The manager and staff team work very well with other early years providers in their locality and effectively share ideas and use advice to provide targeted interventions to meet the specific needs of individual children. Partnerships with parents are a particular strength of the setting. Parents take an active part in their child's learning and attend the nursery to be involved in sessions and activities where their individual skills are well utilised in these activities. For example, parents regularly attend the nursery to talk about their job or to promote cultural awareness. In addition, parents attend regular 'tea parties' where children's progress is shared in a relaxed and friendly way. The management team demonstrate a strong drive to improve the nursery and respond to areas identified for improvement by parents, along with collecting the views of staff and children to improve practice and provision. Parents use words, such as 'excellent' and 'brilliant' to describe

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provision

their satisfaction with the level of service provided. Additional emails to the inspector contain statements, such as 'Rackets is what childcare should be about; care, fun, learning through play, encouragement and every child being celebrated as the individuals they are'.

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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 227182 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 866326

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 32 Number of children on roll 67 Name of provider Susan Davies Date of previous inspection 29/03/2011 Telephone number 0121 454 2846

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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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