Lingfield Nursery School

Lingfield Nursery School Bank Farm, Ray Lane, LINGFIELD, RH7 6JH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/03/2014 09/03/2009

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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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 All the staff are highly skilled and sensitive in helping children of all ages form strong emotional attachments so children show an outstanding sense of belonging and explore their environment confidently.  Staff have consistent expectations for children's behaviour. Children show high levels of self-control during activities and confidence in social situations.  The children's safety and safeguarding is central to everything the staff do so children's well-being is protected extremely well.  There is a highly stimulating environment with child-accessible resources that promote children's learning both indoors and outside.  The strong skills of all the 'key persons' ensure all children are emotionally well prepared for the next stages in their learning.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The outdoor area is not open throughout the whole day for children to use when they wish leading to interrupted play and learning.  Staff do not organise the snack time routine to promote children's independence and self-care skills as well as possible by allowing uninterrupted outdoor play.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children at play in their playrooms and outside and staff interaction with them.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector met with the manager to discuss monitoring systems and other management issues, and talked with children, staff and some parents.  The inspector sampled a range of documents.

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Information about the setting

Lingfield Nursery School registered in 2003 and has been run by its current owners since 2008. It operates from purpose-built premises set in grounds on the outskirts of Lingfield, in Surrey. Children have access to an outdoor play area and fields owned by the provision. It operates from 7am to 7pm throughout the year, except on public holidays and over the Christmas period. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 123 children on roll in the early years age group. Children attend for a variety of sessions or all day. The nursery supports children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The nursery employs 25 permanent staff working directly with the children, of whom 15 hold appropriate early years qualifications.. The setting provides funded early education for three and four-year-olds, and receives support from the local authority.

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

 enhance children's motivation by giving more opportunities for uninterrupted play and learning by having the outdoor area open all day, so children may choose for themselves when to play outdoors in order to encourage their learning as well as possible

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who attend

Staff have a good understanding of how to meet the learning and development requirements. They provide educational programmes that cover all areas of learning. The children are generally independent in the well-organised learning environments, indoors and outdoors, although they cannot make their own decisions about when to play outside. There is a good balance between adult-led and child-initiated activities for the children to engage with. The staff are skilled at supporting independent play and responding to children's interests. As a result, children are continually engaged in purposeful play and make good progress in their learning and development.

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who attend

Staff have very good teaching skills, supporting the children while they play. While children play, staff are alongside at their level talking with them and engaging them in conversations. In the babies' room staff echo babies' attempts at speech and facial expressions to help them find their voices. Staff emphasise key words for babies so that they can develop their language, such as repeating 'car'. Staff use longer sentences with the toddlers. For example, they will talk to them about what they have been doing with their families using information gathered from parents. These activities build children's vocabulary. The older age children enjoy longer conversations with the staff as they share their experiences and ideas. For example, one member of staff talked with a child about a spider's web discovered on the shed outside. Supporting children's interest like this has a strong impact on children's emerging curiosity, motivating them to learn and giving them

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who attend

confidence to explore. All the children make good progress in their communication and language skills. Staff used adult-led activities very skilfully to teach children new skills, such as early mathematical language and hand control. For example, children were learning about shape and colour when dipping cotton reels into paint and then printing them onto paper.

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who attend

The staff use the toys to teach all the children to take turns. For instance, two children were sitting on a small spinning roundabout. They were laughing and smiling as the member of staff spun them round. Another child came along and wanted to get on. The member of staff explained to the child that he would have to wait his turn. Then she asked the other children if he could have a go. One of them was happy to get off and let the other child on. The staff gave lots of positive praise. This demonstrates how staff help children are acquire useful attitudes and dispositions ready for the next stage in their learning. Staff help children to use a wide range of toys independently, such as writing equipment which also help prepare them for when they move on from the nursery.

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who attend

Generally, staff make thorough use of the nursery's large green spaces where amongst other animals, goats and pigs are kept. Children evidently enjoy having opportunities to explore, and set their own challenging play in a safe environment under the mindful-eye of staff. These experiences have a positive impact on children's emerging curiosity and encourage the children to explore their environment. However, the staff team do not make the outdoor area available to children all day. This means children cannot decide for themselves when to play outdoors. This affects those children who prefer to learn actively outside.

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who attend

The staff ask useful questions designed to encourage children's problem solving abilities by prompting them to think. Staff also know when to stand back, giving the children the space to play and learn independently. For example, a child was building a tower with brightly coloured construction tubes. It became higher and higher and he kept on adding to its height. He was completely engrossed in what he was doing. This sort of activity encourages active learning. Children also make good progress in their mathematical skills. Staff are careful to hold their fingers up as they count with younger children, so from a young age children are both hearing and seeing the basics of counting. Older children show that they recognise numerals. They are taught about shapes, size and measure, in preparation for school.

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who attend

Staff work closely together with parents to gather the children's starting points and interests on entry. Staff use these and on-going observations of children's achievements them to plan what children need to learn next. These observations and next steps are recorded in the children's 'earning journey' records with pictures of the planned activities which the children have carried out, so all can follow the children's progress. Parents contribute their comments and ideas to this process. This process helps staff to regularly assess the children's achievements in each area of learning and to track them against expected levels of development. Staff carry out final assessments for the children moving onto school. These assessments support the children's move to school by giving teachers an accurate understanding of what level children are at with their learning when they move to school.

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who attend

Staff understand and implement the progress check for the two-year-old children as part of the regular assessment. The staff identify children's strengths and any achievement gaps. They plan any additional help to address areas where this is required. As a result the children make good progress giving their starting points on entry.

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

The staff team use a highly effective 'key person' system in which staff take special responsibility for named children and their families. Staff begin to build relationships with the children and their parents on settling in visits. Staff are happy to adapt to the children's individual needs. This process means that children form secure emotional bonds with their special member of staff and learn to separate confidently from their parents. The key person gains a very detailed knowledge of children's learning styles and shares this information with the parents. The strong skills of all the key persons ensure all children are emotionally well prepared for the next stages in their learning. This means that all staff give children consistent care and attention while at the same time meeting the children's needs. As a consequence children demonstrate an outstanding sense of belonging in this nursery.

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

The staff create an excellent learning environment for the children to explore. Resources are stored at the children's height so that children can easily select them. There are cosy areas where the children can have a sleep and areas that staff have made where children can sit and look at books or quietly rest. These arrangements help meet children's varying physical needs through the day.

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

Children's physical development is very well planned for. Staff pay close attention to the children's physical experiences so they have excellent body awareness. For example, the outdoor area has a large fenced off area where children can learn how to ride bikes independently and play in a playhouse. The playhouse is fitted out with a drawing table equipped with mark making tools. This means that children have excellent opportunities to exercise safely outdoors and develop their writing skills, thus encouraging the development of a range of physical skills in preparation for school.

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

Staff recognise the differing physical needs of they youngest children to. They create two separate areas, one for the very young babies and one for older ones who are more active movers. Babies have the space to move around in the play area, trying out their balance as they learn to walk.. Staff teach children how to manage their safety in simple ways, such as slowing down before running into another child in the playground. Children learn from the simple instructions they get from the staff, learning how to care for themselves as well as each other. The children have exceptional opportunities to learn about developing a healthy lifestyle. They have a wide range of healthy options that are provided by the on-site chef, including lots of fruit at snack times. Staff teach children to pour their own drinks and serve themselves, supporting their self-help skills in readiness for the next stage in learning.

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

Staff encourage children to use the vegetable garden to grow their own fruit and vegetables. This helps children learn where some foods come from.

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

Staff help children to quickly adopt excellent hygiene habits because staff consistently support a well-established routine. For example, they ensure all children wash their hands after using the toilet and before eating, as they grow older. The children squirt their hands with alcohol hand-gel before coming inside from outdoor play. Staff explain to children about washing germs away, particularly as they have farm animals on the ground for children to touch.

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

Behaviour management is very good. The children demonstrate excellent cooperation in their play, such as taking turns. Staff are very careful to give lots of praise and recognition for good behaviour, so children consistently receive positive messages. This approach helps children to modify their actions and they build very strong self-esteem as a result.

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provision

The manager ensures the safeguarding and welfare requirements are met. Policies and procedures reflect these and are reviewed regularly. All staff suitability is checked and the management make sure the staff have a strong working awareness of the safeguarding policy, including 'whistle blowing'. Staff know how to report any concerns they may have about the welfare of a child. The manager is the lead safeguarding officer and has established rigorous recruitment procedures and probation periods, with on-going mentoring, supervision and appraisals, thus making good use of her qualification. This process means she can maintain a good standard of on-going staff development and training. She sets targets for quality and consistency. Therefore staff demonstrate confidence when asked about their practice and this has a positive impact on keeping children safe and on the children's progress in their learning and development.

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provision

Documentation is well-managed and supports the effective organisation of the nursery. Staff ratios are visibly met. Each member of staff has their own file where documents, such as qualifications and training certificates, are kept for quick reference. All documents are generally well-organised; this efficiency contributes to smooth day-to-day nursery management.

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provision

The manager has made robust progress on all the recommendations made at the last inspection. She has established a system for hand washing so that when children come indoors from the outdoor areas they can all clean their hands thoroughly and in line with environmental health recommendations. The two- to three-year-old children do not have structured 'circle times' any more. The staff now operate 'carpet time' and this arrangement provides opportunities for a short, planned activity that interests the children, such as a brief music session where staff get instruments out for the children to explore. This re-organisation of the routine has significantly improved children's concentration and focus on learning.

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provision

Observations and what children need to learn next are recorded by individual staff so the manager keeps a record a data base in order to analyse children's achievements. This system allows her to track progress for each age group and to identify any achievement gaps that would indicate areas to improve. The system helps to compare the achievements of boys and girls and to ensure the progress of all the children with additional needs. This process helps her to examine the impact of the educational programmes on different groups of children and identify whether additional support is required. The manager works with staff, parents and the children to evaluate the provision, responding to ideas where they will have a positive impact on children.

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provision

Owing to recent flooding, the manager and the owner of the nursery have worked hard with the full support of parents, children and the local community, repairing damage and getting the nursery back to its former glory. The manager is seeing the impact on the children's development because of these initiatives and has set well-targeted plans to continue the very effective progress.

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provision

Parents receive good information about their children's day. Staff write down the details of the care that young children have received, such as their sleep times, meals and nappy changes and give this information to the parents when children are collected. To support daily communications with parents, they are also invited to parents' meetings. This is an opportunity to share how their child is developing in his or her learning and to share significant milestones. This arrangement helps to celebrate the children's achievements and contributes to children's 'learning journey' records. All parents' contributions help staff to build strong partnerships with parents.

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provision

The manager has established good professional relationships with schools to which children transfer and with local authority personnel. For example, where children have additional needs, she identifies required help so that parents and staff can implement strategies that support the child. Staff make sure that children have the necessary attitudes, skills and dispositions to help them make a smooth transfer when starting school.

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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 EY386648 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 830015 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 67 Number of children on roll 123 Name of provider Dale (Surrey) Ltd Date of previous inspection 09/03/2009 Telephone number 01342 836540

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Setting details

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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