ARK Ayrton Nursery

ARK Alpha Day Nursery ARK Ayrton Primary Academy, Somers Road, Southsea, PO5 4LS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/03/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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 1

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This provision is outstanding

 The safeguarding procedures are robust and effective to promote the welfare of all children.  All children benefit from the excellent partnerships between the nursery staff and their parents.  Robust staff supervision and professional development effectively drives improvement.  Staff make excellent use of the play areas to ensure children continue to make rapid progress in their learning, through extensive experiences, both inside and outside.  Staff support children who are learning English as an additional language effectively and very strong partnership working ensures they meet children's individual needs successfully.  Staff provide an innovative and stimulating curriculum to meet the individual needs of all children.

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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 activities both inside and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spent time talking with the head teacher, manager, parents, staff and children.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including children's records, safeguarding procedures, risk assessments, policies and procedures.

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Information about the setting

ARK Alpha Day Nursery registered in 2013. It is run by ARK schools and is part of ARK Ayrton Primary Academy, in Portsmouth. Children have access to age and stage appropriate units and all children have the use of enclosed outdoor play areas.

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Information about the setting

The group is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 154 children in the early years age group on roll. The group provides free early education to children aged two, three and four years old. The group is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6pm for 51 weeks a year and also closes during official bank holidays. The group cares for children who learn English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about the setting

The group employs 28 staff. Of these, 25 staff hold appropriate early years qualifications ranging from level 2 to Early Years Professional Status. In addition, the nursery has a number of support staff.

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

 continue to develop staff behaviour management techniques to ensure children receive consistent messages from all staff, as they learn about right and wrong.

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who attend

All children are making rapid progress towards the early learning goals in relation to their starting points on entry. Staff across the nursery demonstrate an excellent understanding of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and implement it successfully to promote children's welfare, learning and development. Staff spend time recording detailed observations of the children's achievements and progress and then use the information extremely well to plan individual activities and experiences for all children. All staff know exactly what they are working towards with the children. This results in purposeful planned learning intentions, where the children have fun and learn through exciting play activities and experiences. All children are actively engaged in their learning and are involved in planning activities that link in with their own interests and suggestions. For example, children are able to choose what the role-play area will be, in line with their

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who attend

own interests. The curriculum planning, both inside and outside is effectively balanced and covers all areas of learning successfully. Staff organise the daily routines to ensure all children are actively engaged in their learning and are involved in planning activities to extend their learning.

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who attend

Staff facilitate the children's learning extremely well using an inspiring range of teaching techniques. All staff know the children exceptionally well and know what the children are working towards. As a result, all interaction and conversation with the children is purposeful and highly effective. Staff extend the children's learning through planned activities as well as spontaneous learning through incidental opportunities. For example, children recognise letters during a play dough activity. Staff teach the children about other letters promoting their learning and extending their skills through play. Children are highly motivated and eager to learn more, asking many questions and showing curiosity during free play and planned activities. All children celebrate a wide variety of cultural festivals as they learn about the world around them, and staff provide a broad selection of everyday technology.

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who attend

Children work together cooperatively, often singing and laughing spontaneously. The atmosphere is one of busy purposeful play where children flourish. Children become increasingly inquisitive and adventurous in their learning because staff support them so well. All children have access to an extensive range of accessible resources to promote their decision-making skills and independence well. Children enjoy listening to stories and handling books as they learn about the value of text. Staff are highly skilled at bringing the stories to life, using character voices to hold the children's attention. Children have many opportunities to practise their early writing skills in a wide variety of ways. For example, they enjoy making letters with play dough, painting the shed with water, writing their names or making patterns in the shaving foam mixture. Babies practise their early writing skills using paint on their high chair trays, laughing as the paint gets onto their

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who attend

fingers. Staff actively promote children to count and use mathematical language as they play. Older children group objects together, recognising more or less, as they learn about quantity. Younger children randomly say numbers as they develop their understanding of counting and numbers. Children are able to create their own ideas and explore the resources as they experiment with an extensive range of media. Therefore, children are making excellent progress in their learning.

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who attend

The nursery staff have developed very strong links with ARK Ayrton Primary Academy to ensure the children's move to school goes smoothly. Children visit the rest of the school to become familiar with the school staff and the building. Staff effectively promote the children's readiness for school, developing their self-care and listening skills successfully. The nursery staff have excellent systems in place to assist the children's smooth moves, both into the next age and stage base room within the nursery and into school. As a result, children are gaining the skills and attitudes they need to be ready for school or their next stage of learning.

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

All children are extremely happy and settled during their time at the nursery. Staff spend time getting to know the children and their families exceptionally well. Staff value all contributions from the parents and lines of communication are open and trusting. Extremely effective partnerships with parents ensure information is shared openly for the benefit of all children. This enables the staff to meet the individual needs of children at all times. Staff actively encourage children to confidently share their views and opinions, share their thoughts and express themselves freely. Staff respond extremely well to children, giving them a sense of belonging and this encourages children to be fully involved in their learning. Children move around the setting with ease. They are happy to explore the resources and their play and learning environment. As a result, of the very positive relationships the children form with the adults in the setting they demonstrate

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

high levels of self-confidence and self-esteem, in all age groups. All children are supervised extremely well and staff support and assist them as needed both inside and outside.

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

Staff demonstrate that they know all children exceptionally well. They recognise when the children are tired or hungry and quickly respond to their individual needs. Staff implement meticulous hygiene procedures to protect the children and prevent the possible spread of infection. For example, nappy changing procedures are excellent. All staff are aware of the high expectations of the management team and implement the policies and procedures effectively and consistently. Most nursery staff hold food hygiene certificates and ensure children's individual dietary needs are being met. Meticulous safety procedures are in place to monitor all allergies, cultural or medical requirements. Children learn about healthy eating through daily discussion, activities and routines. Staff talk with the children about the types of food that are good for them. All children have many opportunities to practise their physical skills, as they ride wheeled toys with ease and practise climbing and

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

balancing, both outside and inside the nursery. Older children talk about the importance of exercise and know that regular physical activities help their muscles to grow stronger.

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

Staff effectively teach all children about the importance of keeping themselves safe from an early age. For example, children practise regular fire drills with the staff and know how to evacuate the building quickly and safely in the event of an emergency. Staff ensure that children are aware of safety rules within the nursery. For example, they are aware not to run inside the building and the need to sit down when eating. Children make extremely good progress in skills that will support them in the future; they approach each other and visitors with confidence, asking many questions to learn more. They demonstrate an excellent understanding of the expected codes of behaviour overall. Children remind each other of how to behave, and praise other children when they recognise their achievements. However, occasionally some staff forget to give children clear explanations about why their behaviour may be unacceptable or unwanted as they begin to learn about

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

Parents are actively encouraged to be fully involved in their children's learning as soon as they register their children at the nursery. Staff gather a wealth of information from parents about the children's welfare, learning and development, including detailed information about children's starting points in relation to their learning. All parents have access to their children's records at any time, both online and in the children's learning journeys, and are able to make written contributions. Parents have regular opportunities to attend parent's evenings and receive written summary reports, including information about the children's next steps. This effectively supports them to extend their children's learning at home.

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provision

The nursery procedures for safeguarding are comprehensive and effective. All staff have attended safeguarding training and they all know how to implement the procedures to promote the welfare of the children in their care. The management team display the Local Safeguarding Children's Board contact details and procedures around the setting for staff, parents' and visitors' information. Staff discuss all safeguarding policies in great detail with parents to ensure they are fully aware of the nursery's child protection responsibilities. All parents have access to the nursery policies, which are on display for them to read at any time. All children benefit from an extremely safe and secure play and learning environment because all staff are vigilant and take steps to minimise any potential risks to children. For example, staff ensure all children are effectively supervised during outside play activities and any spillages are cleaned up immediately to prevent children or adults

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provision

from slipping. Full written risk assessments are carried out covering all areas the children come into contact with, including all of the outside play areas and all outings. The head teacher and manager consistently implement robust and rigorous recruitment and vetting systems. The management team have all completed safer recruitment training to ensure all adults in the nursery are suitable to work with children. Visitors are required to sign in at the reception desk in the school entrance foyer and the nursery log. This ensures that an accurate record is maintained of everyone who comes into the school and nursery. All external doors have individual key code pads to prevent any unauthorised access into the rooms. As a result children's welfare is significantly promoted.

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provision

The nursery has extremely effective evaluation procedures in place to monitor the effectiveness of all aspects of the setting. The head teacher, manager, all staff, parents and children contribute to the evaluation process through meetings, discussions, written comments, suggestions and questionnaires. This enables to the nursery to assess its own strengths and identify any areas for improvement. For example, due to developing the evaluation process the quality of outdoor learning experiences for children has improved. In addition, the nursery has changed the opening times to reflect the needs of the parents and the base rooms have been re-organised. Consequently, children are now able to move around freely to explore and investigate their surroundings. The nursery has an excellent capacity to improve and maintain continual improvement.

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provision

Extremely effective performance management systems ensure all staff are highly confident in their roles within the nursery. The manager and the two deputies carry out continual monitoring of staff practice, identify training needs and reviewing all paperwork to ensure it is maintained to an exceptionally high standard. The managers and staff play an active role in continuing to drive improvement. For example, the manager and deputies spend time in the nursery rooms monitoring the effectiveness of staff performance and the quality of staff interaction with the children and their parents. They also effectively monitor the quality of activities and experiences provided for the children. All staff complete regular training to ensure their personal skills and professional development continues to grow. Due to the highly nurturing management style in the nursery all staff are extremely enthusiastic about the work they do. As a result, they are committed to

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provision

The nursery has excellent links with an extensive variety of external agencies to ensure they meet all children's individual needs in the best possible way. Well-established and rigorous systems are in place to identify and support children who speak English as an additional language. This includes using sign language, labelling the rooms in different languages, learning how to pronounce key words and phrases and valuing children's home languages. The special needs coordinator is extremely knowledgeable and works very closely in partnership with the parents to address any concerns. She implements individual strategies, agreed with parents to ensure a consistent approach both at home and in the nursery for the children.

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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 EY469031 Local authority Portsmouth Inspection number 935009 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 89 Number of children on roll 154 Name of provider ARK Schools Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 02392829899

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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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