YMCA Little Whale Day Nursery

YMCA Little Whale Nursery H M S Excellent, Whale Island, PORTSMOUTH, PO2 8ER

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 13/03/2014 29/06/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Children flourish at the nursery and are very happy and relaxed. They thoroughly enjoy a wide range of exciting activities that stimulate and motivate them. As a result, they make excellent progress in relation to their starting points.  Children benefit hugely from the highly successful partnership between the staff and parents because their individual needs are well-known and superbly supported.  The environment provides children with excellent opportunities to choose their play materials and follow their individual learning styles. Children benefit from using the outside area where they are able to explore role play and use their imaginations.  Children feel extremely safe and secure in the nursery. This is as a result of very robust safeguarding policies and procedures.  The quality of planning for all children is excellent; each child receives an exceedingly enjoyable, challenging experience across all areas of learning.

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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 compulsory part 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 discussed the format of the inspection on arrival.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records and sampled other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the indoor and the outdoor learning environment.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.  The inspector and manager undertook a joint observation in the outside play area.

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Information about the setting

YMCA Nursery Whale Island registered in 2006 and is one of seven nurseries run by the YMCA Fairthorne Group. It is situated on Whale Island, a Naval Base within Portsmouth and operates from a purpose-built building. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6.00pm for 51 weeks of the year. All children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. There are currently 66 children in the early years age group on roll, and children are able to attend for a variety of sessions. The setting receives funding for early education for two-three-and four year olds. There are 14 members of staff employed to work with the children, all hold recognised childcare qualifications.

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

 review large group times to ensure the needs of the different ages of children are met to further enhance the provision.

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who attend

Children flourish at the nursery, they thoroughly enjoy their learning and achieve extremely well in relation to their starting points. Management and staff create a challenging and stimulating environment, where the atmosphere is incredibly positive and encouraging. Throughout the nursery, children are making excellent progress in all areas of development. They are confident and keen to join in activities and are developing warm relationships with each other and staff. Very effective systems are in place to ensure that children have many opportunities to consolidate or further their learning. For example, younger children are beginning to use tools such as paint brushes with confidence Older children are becoming confident in naming colours and shapes, and the oldest are progressing to writing their own name and understanding simple mathematical concepts. Staff demonstrate an extremely secure knowledge and understanding of how children

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who attend

learn. As a result, children are very enthused and develop a highly positive attitude to their learning and learn to work alongside their peers extremely well. The educational programmes ensure the children are offered extremely interesting and challenging experiences across the different areas of learning. The nursery is organised to provide a stimulating learning environment, with access to well-resourced areas that children can explore freely. Children develop excellent communication skills and chat happily both to one another and to adults. Staff support children extremely well, by offering praise and encouragement and they demonstrate an excellent understanding of children's individual learning needs. Staff use high quality teaching methods to support and challenge children's learning. Children develop new skills and grow in confidence and rise to the challenge of trying something new. They are very active learners. Children's independence

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who attend

is promoted particularly well as they are developing skills, such as putting on their own coats and shoes, pouring their own drinks and helping to tidy up. All children enjoy many opportunities to choose, participate and become independent in their play.

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who attend

Parents are highly encouraged to be involved with their children's learning at the nursery through excellent daily feedback and regular parent's meetings. The nursery has implemented the required progress check for two-year-old children very successfully and all related documentation is in place. As a result of the highly effective assessment and recording of children's progress, parents receive a very clear picture of where their children are in their learning. Parents are kept very well informed about the life of the nursery via the notice boards, newsletters, parent meetings and through daily discussions with staff. They state they have seen their children make exceptional progress while at the setting.

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

Children relish their time at the nursery. They are welcomed into a warm and friendly setting by staff who meet the children's welfare and learning needs with great success. Children are developing particularly warm relationships with each other and staff. An excellent key person system is in place which enables all children to be ready for the next stages in their learning. Children develop very strong emotional bonds and trusting relationships with their key person. This wonderful relationship helps children develop high levels of self-esteem and confidence. Staff make excellent use of resources. The indoor and outdoor play areas are extremely well organised to ensure children can take part in a wide variety of activities. Opportunities to develop physical skills are fostered very well. Children play in the outside areas of the nursery throughout the day. They have excellent opportunities to ride a range of wheeled toys and learn to climb, balance and catch. There

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

is an excellent range of resources that allow children to build and role play in the outside area. Children of all ages particularly like going for walks to the shore or to look at the boats in the harbour.

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

The nursery provides an excellent variety of healthy and nutritious snacks and meals. The children benefit greatly from the carefully balanced menu offered. Children learn about good hygiene routines and from a very young age can independently take themselves off to wash their hands. They all know they must wash their hands after using the toilet, before eating and after messy play. Excellent systems are in place to inform staff of any health or dietary issues the children may have. Children behave extremely well, they are learning to share and take turns and play very well together. They are developing relationships with each other and interact extremely well together throughout the nursery. Children know what is expected of them and are very confident to make their own choices and decisions.

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

One of the nursery's strengths is how they handle children moving to the different age groups within the nursery and their preparation for school. Excellent procedures are in place for a smooth move to ensure consistency of care and learning, and reassurance for each child. Parents are kept informed throughout the process to ensure they know what is happening. They are also invited to visit the next age group to get to know the staff before their child moves up. All staff are committed to making sure the changeover to the different age group is as smooth as possible for each child. Staff support the children extremely well to become independent and gain the skills needed to move successfully to the next stage in their learning. This high quality organisation ensures children are extremely well prepared for a smooth progression to school.

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provision

Parents and children are welcomed into an extremely warm and friendly nursery, by an excellent staff team who meet children's welfare and learning needs with great success. Very effective management structures are in place and communication between all levels of staff is excellent. The manager and staff team are extremely committed and highly dedicated to maintaining the highest levels of achievement for the children. Arrangements for safeguarding children are robust. Staff complete training in child protection and have an excellent understanding of safeguarding procedures. The registered provider and manager demonstrate an excellent understanding about rigorous and secure recruitment practice. Thorough induction and appraisal procedures are adhered to. This results in children being cared for by well qualified and suitably vetted individuals. The company and manager have high aspirations for quality, which is evident through ongoing improvement,

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provision

in consultation with staff, parents and children. There are excellent systems in place to monitor and evaluate the setting, to ensure any strengths and areas for development are identified. For example, reviewing the large group times in each room is something that has been highlighted to enhance the provision further. All children are included and supported extremely well and the nursery promotes equality and diversity highly successfully. An extensive range of policies and procedures are in place and thorough risk assessments show how safety is prioritised in all areas both inside and outside. Staff monitor children extremely well and use clear explanations to help ensure that children learn to understand hazards.

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provision

A superb partnership between the nursery and parents ensures key information is shared between them. Staff keep parents of all the children informed about daily routines, the activities their children have taken part in and the food they have eaten. Parents express enormous confidence in the standard of care, communication and their children's preparation for the future. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those learning English as an additional language extremely well. Partnerships with other settings the children attend are excellent. Staff liaise extremely well with the other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage where children attend other settings. This results in a fully shared approach to children's care and learning.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY319060 Local authority Portsmouth Inspection number 917939 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 58 Number of children on roll 66 Name of provider YMCA Fairthorne Group Date of previous inspection 29/06/2010 Telephone number 02392 547182

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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

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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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