Wooden Tops Day Nursery

Wooden Tops Day Nursery Park Lane Centre, Park Lane, TELFORD, Shropshire, TF7 5QZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 06/02/2014 08/07/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 4 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 Staff are friendly, approachable and are well deployed in supporting children's settling- in routines. Staff and children are forming secure attachments. This supports children's emotional well-being appropriately.  Good communication with parents enables staff to meet children's needs well, overall.  Staff have a clear understanding of procedures to be followed to protect children in their care.

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It is not yet good because

 Teaching is variable within the nursery. Staff are not consistently planning sufficient high quality activities to help to close gaps in some children's learning and development. Some activities do not provide children with a good level of challenge. Therefore, children's progress is not fully maximised.  The manager does not effectively monitor or track the progress of groups of children. This means she does not have a clear overview of children's progress, in order to target support if necessary.  There is ineffective monitoring, supervision and coaching to target weaker staff to improve performance and quality of teaching.  Opportunities to promote children's independence and to help children learn about the benefits of healthy eating at meal times are missed.

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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 checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with the children and the providers evaluation form.  The inspector held meetings with the manager of the nursery.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the deputy manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the four playrooms and outside learning environment.  The inspector took account of views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Wooden Tops Day Nursery was registered in 2006 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from the children's centre premises in Woodside, which is a suburb of Telford. The nursery uses a self-contained area of the building comprising of four purpose-built rooms and an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 21 members of childcare staff. Of these, 19 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and 3, including one member of staff with Early Years Professional Status. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 119 children on roll, all of whom 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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must:

 provide challenging and enjoyable learning experiences for all children across all areas of learning to help all children make good progress

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must:

 ensure appropriate arrangements are in place to provide support, coaching, supervision and monitoring, in order to increase staff's knowledge and skills and improve performance and the quality of teaching within the nursery.

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

 develop management systems to effectively monitor and track the progress of groups of children so that managers can target support if necessary

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

 ensure that staff provide opportunities to promote children's independence and to help children learn about the benefits of healthy eating.

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who attend

Generally, children are happy, settled and make satisfactory progress towards the early learning goals during their time at the nursery. Parents complete registration information, which includes children's likes and dislikes and staff show that they know the children well when speaking about them. Children are familiar with the nursery routines and readily take part in a range of different activities, from a wide range of developmentally appropriate toys that enable them to explore independently. Most children show characteristics of keen learners by engaging in the activities and stay focused for increasing amounts of time, depending on their age and stage of learning and development. Staff have a satisfactory understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and most plan some suitable experiences for children. For example, during a sensory activity in

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who attend

'Room 3', staff support children to explore different textures, such as beans, lentils, oats, spaghetti and different coloured paints. The children are engaged and motivated as they create different colours by mixing the paints together. Staff skilfully introduce new vocabulary, such as 'expanding' as they add shaving foam to the mixture. Staff use mathematical language to describe what the children are doing as they fill and empty the containers provided. Staff skilfully use open ended questions to encourage children to talk about what they feel and see. Staff take time to talk to children and encourage them in conversations where they can recall events or talk about things that interest them or that they have experienced. For example, one child asks everyone to listen while they snap the spaghetti in half. The child explains it is a quiet noise and that it does not frighten them 'like the fireworks did'. Children are listened to and given time to respond. These effective

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who attend

questioning techniques elicit verbal responses and encourage children's critical thinking skills. In the baby room, staff talk to babies and young children as they enjoy the touch and feel of frozen coloured water. Staff promote the children's communication and language as they talk and use words, such as 'freezing', 'frozen' and 'melting'. Staff introduce different resources for the children,which further motivates the children and they engage in the activity for some time. In the pre-school room, children are encouraged to sound out the first letter of their name and more confident children are praised when they recognise other letters in their names. As staffing levels are high children get good attention from staff, who play with them and support learning through a wide range of play based activities. Children independently select what they would like to play with and share toys and equipment with their peers. In contrast, 'Room 2' is

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who attend

disorganised and loud and children wander between two tables that have resources on them chosen by staff. Staff ask a child if they want to draw some shapes on the small white boards. The child does not yet recognise shapes according to the individual learning journals and therefore, does not understand what is expected or what to do. The child scribbles for a minute and then wanders around the room again. This means that staff are not planning activities to meet the learning needs of individual children and because of this, they make satisfactory rather than good progress in their learning and development. Older children show a positive approach to learning and are developing skills, such as concentrating and listening, which prepares them for moving on to school. However, during a story time session with some pre-school children, staff do not involve the children actively enough, or respond to their many attempts to discuss the characters further.

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who attend

Consequently, some children lose interest in the story and start to fidget and move away.

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who attend

Planning does not always ensure that all children consistently access high quality learning experiences in depth across all the seven areas of learning or take into account the individual needs and stage of development of each child. On occasions planning sometimes centres too much on activities chosen by staff. This means that some children are not always sufficiently supported or given opportunities to extend their learning. In the pre-school room, staff do not always give enough consideration to the different ages and developmental abilities within the room. For example, during a circle time session children become restless because the activity is mundane, too long and not sufficiently challenging for older children. This means that it does not keep their interest, engage or motivate the children. Therefore, children's progress is not fully maximised. Staff show that they know children well and key persons have good relationships with parents and share information

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who attend

about care practices or how children have generally been during the day. The progress check at age two is completed in partnership with parents, which also means that parents are aware of the progress their child is making, whether there are any gaps in development and how these gaps will be closed.

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who attend

Information gathered from parents when children start in the nursery is used to plan their individual next learning steps and to track the progress they make. Children's learning journey files are completed regularly and they contain photographs, examples of children's work and short observations of children during play. However, this information is not always used effectively to ensure that children's next stage of learning is considered when activities and experiences are provided for children. This means that some children make adequate rather than good progress towards their next stage of learning and development. Parents speak fondly about the nursery and the staff. They appreciate the daily report staff provide to outline a child's day at the nursery. Some parents talk about how they are involved in their children's learning and development as they work on the same targets as the nursery, such as early writing skills, tracing over letters with their

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who attend

child. They also speak about how well their children are supported in gaining basic skills and independence as they prepare for the move to school.

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

The key person arrangement is effective because children have time to form strong bonds with particular members of staff. This means that children feel safe and secure as staff are attentive to them and quickly respond to their needs. This ensures children receive consistent and sensitive care from someone who knows them well, which promotes their emotional well-being. Staff interact positively with children at all times. Staff constantly talk to children and consequently, children are fully at ease in the nursery. Transitions into the nursery are well managed as settling-in procedures are tailored to children's individual needs. Staff discuss routines for babies with their parents prior to them starting at the nursery. As a result, the continuity in routine helps young children to have a sense of belonging. Within the nursery, a gradual transition to their next room ensures that children have opportunities to form new relationships with staff and peers. Transition

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

arrangements for children leaving the nursery are good as staff talk to children about what to expect when they start school.

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

Most staff use toys and resources that the children have shown an interest in. Therefore, they enjoy play and as a result, they maintain concentration. In turn, this contributes positively to their good behaviour as they focus on their play activities. Children also learn to share resources and this means they develop an understanding of the boundaries of behaviour. Children are confident as they look and choose resources in their play. They are confident as they talk to adults, explaining their ideas and experiences. Children's physical development is well supported through exciting outdoor opportunities. The outside play area is well resourced and staff join the children in their play. Children play chasing games and use the pedalled toys to negotiate obstacles and other children. Children learn to keep themselves safe as they climb the large play equipment. Staff encourage children to use the obstacle course, which includes steps and low level

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

balancing bars and they provide help when needed. These arrangements allow children to get fresh air and to develop their large muscle skills appropriately. Staff give clear reminders during physical play to be mindful of others. As a result, children learn to be careful as they run around and to have regard for the safety of others.

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

A variety of balanced meals are served daily and staff ensure children's dietary needs are met. Drinking water is accessible to children who can help themselves throughout the day. Staff offer water regularly to other children to ensure they drink sufficiently. However, in the pre-school children are not encouraged to learn about the benefits of healthy eating and the reasons for drinking water. This means that some care routines are not used appropriately to promote children's understanding of a healthy lifestyle. Pre-school children are encouraged to develop their independent skills as they wash their hands and put on their own coats. However, opportunities for children to lay the table, serve themselves and tidy away the plates when they have finished lunch, are missed. Security is addressed very well. The lobby is similar to a holding area and visitors are met at the door by a member of staff to ensure that visitors can only access the playrooms when

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provision

Robust recruitment and induction procedures ensure staff are suitable to work with children and ongoing suitability is reviewed regularly. This includes obtaining information about employment history, qualifications and completing Disclosure and Barring Service checks. Designated persons for child protection are clear about their responsibility to support children and staff at all times. All staff have completed child protection training, ensuring they are clear about procedures to be followed to protect children. All staff hold an appropriate paediatric first-aid certificate. Risk assessments are completed to ensure hazards are identified and addressed appropriately to ensure the premises are safe for children. This contributes positively to the safeguarding of children.

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provision

All staff have supervision meetings with a manager at regular intervals. However, a robust system for improving the quality of teaching is not in place. Therefore, staff do not always receive support to make improvements in their teaching practice to promote children's learning consistently and effectively. Staff are appropriately qualified for their roles and the impact of staff qualifications on the quality of the teaching and learning experiences for children is generally positive. Although most staff have a reasonable understanding of promoting children's learning appropriately, the quality of teaching is variable across the nursery. The manager does not effectively monitor or track the progress of groups of children. This means she does not have a clear overview of children's progress in order to target support if necessary. This means that some children make steady, rather than good progress from their starting points.

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provision

The partnerships with parents are based on good communication. Parents receive a wide range of information, for example, policies, including safeguarding procedures, which are displayed on parents' boards. Parents are asked to contribute to their child's learning journey. As a result, staff gain an understanding of the cultural values of the families who use the nursery. This helps staff to help parents to continue to support children's learning at home. The nursery works with external agencies to support children with special educational needs. Parents of children who have been identified as requiring additional support report that they feel well supported by the nursery. Parents spoken to commented 'I am really happy with the nursery and the staff' and 'my child loves it here and is doing really well'. The manager is aware of the importance of sharing information with other early years providers. The manager aspires to improve the nursery by regular review and

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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 EY334503 Local authority Telford & Wrekin Inspection number 930676

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 87 Number of children on roll 109 Name of provider Wooden Tops Day Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 08/07/2013 Telephone number 01952 583711

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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Type of provision

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

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