Humpty Dumpty Day Nursery and Pre-School -Lichfield

Humpty Dumpty Day Nursery and Pre-School Trent Valley Road, LICHFIELD, Staffordshire, WS13 6HB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/01/2014 09/07/2012

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early years provision

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

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This provision requires improvement

 A robust and ongoing safeguarding training programme is in place and effective in ensuring policy and procedures are fully implemented, in order to safeguard all children.  Children throughout the nursery particularly benefit from spending time in the outdoor areas, which have been designed specifically to harness a rich learning environment. Children's learning in the Forest School area is particularly enriched by staff who are specifically trained to use Forest School teaching strategies.  Children benefit greatly from the very strong emphasis that is given to working in partnership with parents, which supports children's learning and emotional well-being.

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It is not yet good because

 Arrangements for staff supervision are not effective enough. They do not ensure staff have regular opportunities to discuss any sensitive issues or address any issues concerning children's well-being with management.  Teaching is not at least consistently good because information gained about children's achievements is not always used to plan activities and adult interactions. Consequently, at times some activities are not well matched to children's individual abilities, in order to support them to make good progress towards the early learning goals.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in all eight playrooms and all outdoor play areas.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the three managers of the nursery and staff in all playrooms about safeguarding procedures and children's play, learning and care routines.  The inspector spoke to parents and children to obtain their views.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector conducted a joint observation of a children's activity with the Learning and Development manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of staff working with children and discussed the nurseries self-evaluation and improvement plans.

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Information about the setting

Humpty Dumpty Day Nursery and Pre-School were registered in newly refurbished premises in 2012. It has been established since 1987. They operate from eight rooms within a large building set in the centre of Lichfield in Staffordshire. All children have access to a secure enclosed outside play area and disabled access is in place. The setting is open from 7.30am to 6pm, all year round.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years register and on both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 258 children, aged from three months to eight years on roll. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who have English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 43 members of staff. All staff hold childcare qualifications at level 3, with the exception of three who are currently undertaking level 3 qualifications. Two of the senior early years practitioners hold Degrees in Early Childhood Studies alongside two additional Early Years Practitioners and two managers who hold Foundation degrees in Early Childhood Studies. The Forest School leader hold Early Years Professional Status. One member of staff is a qualified teacher who specialises in Early Years Education. The nursery is a member of the National Day Nursery Association and they receive support from the local authority.

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must:

 ensure the interests of children are safeguarded by providing staff with regular supervision with the opportunity for them to discuss any sensitive issues or address any issues concerning children's well-being

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must:

 ensure all children are supported to make good progress in their learning and development by effectively monitoring their progress towards the early learning goals and effectively monitoring the quality of teaching to ensure all information gained from observations is used to plan activities and adult interactions so that they are well matched to children's individual abilities and needs.

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who attend

In some instances the quality of teaching is good and outstanding. Staff use a number of successful strategies to engage parents to take part in their children's learning in the nursery and at home, which is a key factor for supporting children's future learning at school. This includes holding workshops for parents around specific areas of learning, such as promoting children's undertaking of letter sounds, which supports their readiness for school. Parents contributions are sought and highly valued, which helps to enhance children's learning. For example, parents provide wonderful resources, such as a large Chinese Dragon, which is used to celebrate the Chinese New Year. This helps to broaden children's knowledge and reflect children's experiences. It also promotes an inclusive ethos in the nursery. As a result of positive partnerships within the local community children's work is also displayed within art exhibitions at a local art gallery. This provides further rich

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who attend

opportunities for children's wider families to share and become involved in their learning. Throughout the nursery attractive displays also inform parents about how their children's learning can be supported. Parents spoken to on the day of inspection report staff are very supportive and take time to talk to them about their child's development and learning, which they feel helps them to support their child's learning at home. In some instances, staff work very closely in partnership with parents to closely monitor, identify and assess children's progress, such as completing a record together of new words spoken by children at home and at the nursery, which contributes to developing very accurate assessments.

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who attend

Children throughout the nursery particularly benefit from learning outdoors. The nursery has been designed specifically to harness the rich learning environment of the outdoors. Most rooms lead out into the outdoor play areas, which are resourced to promote all areas of learning. This particularly enriches the experiences of children who learn most effectively through activity and movement. An atrium area provides wonderful views and additional access to fresh air feature for children who are cared for upstairs. Regular outdoor play session are also provided for these children. The Forest School area provides a truly enchanting space. Children's learning in this area is particularly enriched by staff who are specifically trained to use Forest School teaching strategies. They provide enhanced opportunities for children's physical activity and confidence building, creativity, problem solving, language development, contact with the natural world and imaginative

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who attend

Each room in the nursery effectively promotes children's self-initiated play in all areas of learning, which motivates children to become engaged in active learning. For example, in all rooms children become engaged in imaginative play using a variety of small world resources. This supports all children excursions into imaginary worlds, which expands their imagination and helps to support them to express their thoughts and feeling and to begin to play cooperatively together. During this play children develop their communication skills as they take part in self-talk and discussions with other children and staff. Throughout the nursery indoors and outdoors wonderful emphasis is given to providing a constant steam of new and unusual range of items and materials for children to explore and experiment with. This supports all children to find new ways to do things, test their ideas and learn new vocabulary. Interactive boards supports children's interest in information and

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who attend

communication technology as well as supporting other areas of leaning, such as, number, shape and problem solving. In all areas a good focus is given to singing action and number songs, looking at books and listening to stories, which supports children vocabulary, understanding and listening skills. This approach is particularly effective for children who are learning English as an additional language as it helps to put new words into context of what children see and how they are moving. At all times staff are on hand showing interest in what children say and do. Some staff are very skilful in all of their interactions and successfully capture spontaneous and planned opportunities to support children's to explore ideas and develop problem solving skills. Staff work very effectively with the local special education coordinator and other professionals to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. In these instances information from

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who attend

assessments is used very effectively to plan well targeted support for children, which results in children making good progress.

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who attend

However, teaching requires improvement because at times information gained about children's achievements and individual stage of development is not always effectively accessed, or used by staff across the nursery to plan activities and guide their interactions. Therefore, the quality of teaching is variable and not always tailored towards individual children, or well matched to their abilities. This means some children do not always receive effective support and challenge to make good progress in their development, given their starting points and capabilities. For example, when children take part in an adult-led mark making activity their individual stage of development is not easily available to staff supporting the activity. This does not ensure staff are fully equipped to adapt the activity and effectively tailor their interactions and support. Consequently, too much is expected of some children, which results in staff becoming too directive in their interactions. As a

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who attend

result, some children soon lose interest in the activity and the opportunity to support and extend learning and motivate interest in this important area of learning is not successfully captured. All staff make regular observations of children's abilities and assess their developmental stage. However, some staff do not always use this to effectively plan and provide targeted early interventions to effectively support their key children's learning. This is particularly necessary where gaps in children's learning are beginning to emerge. In some instances, the planning of activities is narrow or too focused on resources that will be used. As a result, at times some staff do not always consider the wider range of possible teaching strategies that can be used in interacting with children to support their learning. This sometimes results into much emphasis being placed on the end product, such as making a shaped sandwich, rather than capturing all of the possible learning

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who attend

opportunities to support and extend children's learning during the process of making the sandwich.

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

Children's safety and welfare is not fully promoted because safeguarding and welfare requirements are not consistently fully met. This is in relation to the nursery working in partnership with other child protection agencies, in order to ensure all children are fully safeguarded.

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

Staff have a very secure understanding of how to create a highly flexible and stimulating environment. A wide variety of easily accessible resources ignite children's interest to initiate their own play and follow their own interest in all areas of learning, indoors and outdoors. This effectively supports children's independence and motivation. Staff fully understand how important it is for children to become active indoors and they plan a variety of stimulating and challenging range of activities to support this. For example, children enjoy singing and movement sessions and physical education sessions that are led by professionally trained adults who visit the nursery on a weekly basis. These activities help children to become active, develop control over their bodies and help to develop a positive attitude to exercise. The well-equipped outdoor areas provide sheltered areas and the nursery provides all children with all-weather clothing so that they can enjoy

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

fresh air and outdoor play during all weather conditions. As a result, children learn about nature, develop a sense of adventure and ability to work on a larger scale than indoors throughout the year. Children have good opportunities to develop their physical skills using a wide variety of outdoor toys, such as wheeled toys and climbing frames. During all activities, particularly Forest School activities, children are supported to develop their undertaking of how to keep themselves and other safe. As a result, children demonstrate a good understanding, relative their age.

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

All children benefit from being allocated to an individual key person who work effectively in partnership with their parents to ensure initial settling-in experiences and moves between rooms are tailored to meet their individual needs. This may include extending sessions, where needed, to ensure children become confident and familiar with their key person, which supports children's emotional well-being. Parents spoken to on the day of inspection state staff are very helpful, supportive and flexible during this period. Children are effectively supported to acknowledge their achievements and look forward to and embrace their new experience of school through celebrations, such as Graduation Day and strong links with local schools promote continuity and cohesion in children's learning and care when they move onto school.

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

Throughout the nursery children receive good levels of support to manage their feelings and behaviour. All children are supported well to consider others and to take turns and share. As children become more able they enjoy taking responsibility for small tasks, such as pouring water for other children at meal times. Children display good self-help skills as they take off their shoes and put on their wellington boots, hats, gloves and all in one coat ready for their Forest School session. Staff are on hand and provide assistance to support independence when required. Younger children demonstrate their sense of security and well-being as they show familiarity with daily routines and take an active role in rituals before settling down to sleep after lunch. Effective partnership working with parents and between staff ensures continuity and consistency of boundaries for children, who respond well to these. As a result, children in all areas enjoy harmonious environments, which help

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

to support their sense of well-being. Staff work in partnership with parents to support children's care needs, particularly when children have specific individual needs. Children's good health is effectively supported through a variety of healthy snacks and meals, which are cooked on site using fresh produce. Healthy eating themes and growing activities further support children's awareness of healthy eating.

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provision

This inspection was brought forward following a notification to Ofsted by the nursery that a member of staff had been dismissed due to her unacceptable behaviour towards children and staff. The member of staff was suspended immediately and following an investigation into her behaviour she was dismissed. Although these steps contributed to safeguarding children's welfare the management team of the nursery accepts they did not fully carry out their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. They accept they did not implement the nursery safeguarding policy by following the procedure that requires them to report concerns about staff's behaviour to the Local Authority Designated Safeguarding Officer, before any type of investigation is undertaken. Therefore, the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register were not met. To address

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provision

this failure a significant and robust training programme has been implemented throughout the company. As a result, the management team demonstrate clear knowledge, understanding and commitment to fully implement the nursery safeguarding policy and procedures. The training programme has also embedded a strong understanding between the nursery staff of the actions that they must be taken in such an event, including the action they must personally take if correct procedures are not followed. One member of the management team has undertaken training that qualifies them to train staff in safeguarding issues. This member of management has the responsibility to ensure all new staff also develop this very clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities and that current staff maintain this very high level of awareness. This significantly contributes to ensuring all staff take all necessary steps in a swift manner to ensure all children are fully

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provision

Recruitment and vetting procedures are in place and effectively implemented. This includes obtaining disclosure and barring checks and references for all staff. Staff are also required to declare any incidents following these checks that would affect their suitability, which contributes to helping to ensure staff are suitable to work with children. Induction training for new staff is in place and all rooms have staff leaders, together with the management team provide support, coaching and training. Yearly appraisals are also in place as well as an 'open door' management policy for staff to discuss any issues they have. In general, this is effective to support staff to develop their skills and promote the interest of children. However, there is not a systematic approach to the individual supervision of staff within the very large staff group. This does not ensure all staff have the opportunity to discuss sensitive issues or address any issues concerning children's

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provision

well-being with management, to ensure the interest of children are robustly protected. Effective risk assessments, high levels of staff supervision and robust security arrangements to ensure intruders are prevented from entering the premises are in place. All the required records to ensure the safe and efficient management of the setting and to help ensure the needs of all children are met are kept. Staff receive training in first aid, which ensures they administer first aid appropriately and inform parents of any accidents. These procedures help to ensure children's health is promoted and benefit from a secure environment.

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provision

The management team have very high aspirations to provide the very best to support all children's care and learning. In a number of areas they are very successful in meeting their vision, particularly in relation to placing high focus on developing very positive relationships with parents. This significantly enhances partnership working with parents, which helps to identify and meet children individual needs. The exceptional quality of the premises and indoors and outdoors resources also contributes to meeting children's needs well. The expert knowledge of some staff, such as the Learning and Development Manager and qualified Forest School staff also contribute to providing high quality learning opportunities for children. In most instances the effective partnership with a number of other professionals and good community links also contribute to providing high levels of support for children and their families. However, there are weaknesses in the current

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provision

management systems in place to monitor the quality of teaching and children's progress towards the early learning goals. Consequently, the quality of teaching across the nursery is not at least consistently good. The management team are aware of the need to continue to make improvements in this area. They have plans to improve the monitoring of children's progress and to provide further staff support, coaching and training, where needed. However, swift enough action has not yet been taken to ensure that all planned activities and adult interactions are well matched to all children's individual abilities and needs, in order to consistently support children's good progress towards the early learning goals.

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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 EY434118 Local authority Staffordshire Inspection number 950782

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 120 Number of children on roll 285 Name of provider Humpty Dumpty Day Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 09/07/2012 Telephone number 01543416002

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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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