Little Pioneers Nursery & Pre-School, John Radcliffe

The Co-operative Childcare John Radcliffe John Radcliffe Hospital, Headley Way, Headington, OXFORD, OX3 9DU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 27/02/2014 22/08/2011

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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

 Overall learning and development is strong within the nursery. Most staff successfully engage children and support them as they develop skills and investigate how to work out how to do things in imaginative ways.  Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding and promoting children's welfare. This includes hygiene and the safety of children within daily routines and activities.  The nursery works successfully with parents ensuring partnerships effectively support children's learning both in the nursery and while at home. This helps children make good progress in all areas of learning and development.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Although all children spend time learning in outside spaces, younger children have fewer opportunities to enjoy an enabling environment in the outdoors.  Staff working with the babies do not always engage purposefully with them to support their developing communication and language skills.

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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 undertaken by the children and staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector discussed practice with staff and managers and invited the manager to conduct a joint observation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documents in relation to children's learning and development, and those relating to staff training, support and skills, safeguarding and welfare.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of parents' views through discussion and evaluation of parents' written feedback.  The inspector took account of the nursery's self-evaluation.

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Information about the setting

The Co-operative Childcare John Radcliffe registered in 2007. It is one of 50 provisions run by The Midcounties Co-operative Limited. It operates from premises on the ground floor of the West Wing in the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. It comprises of five playrooms with associated facilities, including cloakrooms, kitchens and sleeping areas. There are several enclosed outdoor play areas for the different age groups. The provision provides places for families employed by the hospital trust, the staff of the John Radcliffe Hospital and members of the public. The provision is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery currently has 115 children on roll in the early years age range. The provision supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children who speak English as an additional language. The provision is open each weekday from 7am until 6:30 pm all year

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Information about the setting

round. It is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. Partnership arrangements are in place with other early years settings, including schools which children transfer to at the end of their time at the provision. The provision employs 15 staff of whom 12 hold relevant qualifications. Three staff are working towards a higher professional qualification.

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

 provide more opportunities for the babies and very young children to explore learning in outside environments

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

 support babies' developing communication and language skills further, for example by engaging with them and using ongoing commentary to help them make sense of the world around them.

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who attend

This provision is good because overall, children have opportunities to learn across the seven areas of learning. There are many opportunities for children to explore and investigate their interests through their own games. Staff plan for and provide children with a good range of exciting activities. Babies access resources at floor and low level allowing them to explore a range of cause and effect toys and natural materials. Most babies are pulling themselves up into standing positions and cruising around low-level furniture. Others take tentative steps as they develop their physical skills. There is space to move around and staff are close at hand supporting babies with their gentle interactions. Toddlers enjoy crawling through and climbing on frames appropriate for their age and development. Staff offer the younger children chunky puzzles and encourage them to make marks in sand and with other materials to develop their hand-eye

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who attend

coordination. Staff plan much more complex resources and activities for older children to explore. They are learning to match colours, recognise shapes and numbers. Some are developing literacy skills, learning about letters and sounds and how to form their own name.

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who attend

Staff plan for children's physical development organising outside space to offer a range of experiences which encourage balance, coordination and skills such as throwing and catching balls. They plan activities so that children can explore music and sound. Throughout the nursery staff also plan adult-led activities based on what they know about children. Staff successfully support older children through open questioning and this helps them as they find solutions to problems. They support language development throughout the nursery through singing and action rhymes. Staff listen to toddlers and respond to their simple requests. Overall, there is good use of ongoing commentary to help children build vocabulary but it is less strong in the baby room where staff are more focused on care needs. This has an impact on the babies' developing communication skills. Most children in the nursery are happy and settled. They grow in confidence and self-assurance

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who attend

in their learning because the balance of self-initiated and adult-led learning helps them to consolidate what they know.

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who attend

There is clear development in the initial assessments staff make of children. Staff take account of parents' views about their child's development. This helps them establish a baseline to measure learning against. Wow moments and photographs help staff establish what children are achieving. Staff successfully measure children's development, linking their achievements into aspects of the early learning goals. Most next steps identified for children relate well to evidence collected and support children as they move forward in their learning. Staff complete the required progress check for two-year-old children to successfully show parents how well their children are developing within the prime areas of learning. They help parents understand if children are developing within expected levels for their age for their physical, personal, social and emotional, and communication and language development. Staff make sure they talk to parents regularly and share their

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who attend

observations of children's important achievements. Parents are helped through each stage of children's learning through advice offered from caring staff. Staff share children's current interests which encourages parents to spend play time at home with children sharing their learning experiences.

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

There is good provision for key person systems. Key staff and parents plan together to ensure children separate and form strong attachments within their home room. Key people work with a buddy to ensure when one key person is absent children still feel secure with the adults working with them. Key people ensure that they personalise individual care and welfare to each child and value their home routines to help the children feel content and happy. This is particularly well managed in the baby and toddler rooms where staffing issues are more stable. The strong engagements with parents ensure parents' views on parenting and forms of comfort are respected.

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

Staff provide children with good role models of how to behave. They talk respectfully to children using gentle voices. Children learn to use gentle hands and be kind to others. Staff show compassion when they comfort distressed children with cuddles. Younger children copy this behaviour by offering cuddles to their play mates. Toddlers guide each other's behaviour as they point out whose drink is whose. Good modelling by staff ensures older children understand how to share resources and cooperate. They learn from staff how to be polite and manage their own behaviour. Children join in with group activities and are animated as they enjoy the company of others. The nursery has a diverse community and children learn to play with each other and treat each other with respect. Educational programmes include learning about the wider world and other communities. Staff ensure children have resources to explore which help them understand how families

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

Staff remind children to play safely, for example by encouraging them to use walking feet indoors and running feet outdoors. Children show respect for the resources and learn how to use tools safely. Staff ensure that children have a safe environment to play in and report hazards to the office so they can be quickly addressed to keep children safe and the premises secure.

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

The staff's hygiene procedures are robust as they ensure equipment and resources are clean. They wear appropriate clothing to protect children from cross contamination. Young children's personal and intimate care needs are met which ensures they are comfortable and maintain good health. All children, as they grow, are encouraged to gain independence in self-care such as regarding their hand washing and toileting skills. They all show some level of independence during meal times by feeding themselves. Meals are cooked on the premises in sufficient quantity and are nutritionally rich. Regular snacks and meals ensure children have the fuel they need to learn and be active.

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

Overall, planning ensures flexible play allowing children to move between indoor and outdoor activities as part of a healthy lifestyle. However, this works less effectively for babies, in part due to their care and sleep routines. Consequently this has a small impact on their opportunities for learning outdoors. Overall, the nursery helps children develop healthy lifestyles.

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

The environment is well planned and offers children many opportunities to learn both inside and outside. Children's work is put up on display on the walls which helps them feel a sense of achievement and belonging. Furniture and equipment supports children's independence and resources are appropriate to children's age and ability to learn and gain skills. Children build confidence in this nursery because their self-esteem is encouraged. Staff ensure children continue to feel secure as they move between home rooms and prepare for school.

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provision

The leadership and management team have a secure overview of how the staff meet the learning and development requirements. They regularly monitor staff performance and identify and support staff to further develop their skills. Planning is individualised and ensures children work towards identified targets within the educational programmes. Staff successfully track children's development against expected levels for their age and gaps are closing effectively between different groups of children.

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provision

The managers and staff have a good understanding of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. All requirements in relation to children's learning and development, and safeguarding and welfare are met. The leadership and management team have contingency plans in place to ensure ratios are met and children receive consistently good levels of care. Recruitment is strong and all staff complete appropriate checks to ensure they are suitable to work with children. Induction includes a range of training opportunities for staff to consolidate practice. Regular supervision and appraisals helps management make sure of the continued suitability of staff and to identify additional training needs. Staff are encouraged to develop their skills and seek higher qualifications to improve their practice and, in turn, the outcomes for children.

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provision

Management seek the parents and children's views to help the team reflect on their practice. The nursery is able to identify their strengths and weaknesses. The leadership and management team action areas for development in order to bring about improvement. They develop their service in line with parents' expectations. Overall, staff show good attitudes to develop and learn and work well as a team.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are strong because communication successfully ensures parents feel important partners within their children's learning and upbringing. Other partnerships help staff support specific children to bring about achievements in line with expectations and help ensure their readiness for school.

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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 EY345412 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 955188

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 72 Number of children on roll 115 Name of provider The Midcounties Co-Operative Limited Date of previous inspection 22/08/2011 Telephone number 01865 762402

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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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