The Learning Tree Day Nursery

The Learning Tree Day Nursery Eckweek Road, Peasedown St. John, BATH, BA2 8EQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26/03/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Children are happy and confident, as staff have a good understanding of their individual needs helping children build secure attachments.  Staff know the children well and regularly assess and plan for their individual learning and as a result, children make good progress in their learning.  Children's mathematical development is promoted well throughout all activities.  Strong partnerships are established with parents, who are encouraged to get actively involved in the nursery and share their child's achievements at home.  Management and staff have a clear drive for the ongoing development of the nursery effectively identifying where aspects can be improved, which benefits children.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 At times, organisation of daily routines and activities is a quite adult directed which means children do not always have the full opportunities to be independent in their learning.  Some group activities for two-year-olds are not always geared to children's stage of development to engage children fully and as a result, some children lose interest.

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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 observed activities in the playrooms and the outside learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation including a sample of children's records, planning and records to check staff suitability.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day of the inspection and of the provider's self-evaluation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager of the nursery and completed a joint observation with the manager of the nursery.

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Information about the setting

The Learning Tree Day Nursery is privately owned and operates from a converted chapel in Peasedown St John, near Bath. The nursery was originally registered in 2004, and re- registered in 2013. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. The nursery operates from Monday to Friday, for 51 weeks of the year from 7.30am until 6pm. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four years. There are currently 64 children on roll. The nursery supports children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who learn English as an additional language. There are 11 staff employed at the nursery; 10 of these work directly with the children. Nine staff hold recognised early years qualifications, including one who has Early Years Professional Status; and qualified teaching status. One is working towards an early years

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

 review organisation of daily routines to provide more opportunities for children's independent learning

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

 develop the group activities for two-year-olds further to make them more engaging for the younger children to fully extend children's learning.

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who attend

Children settle quickly at the nursery and are keen to explore the stimulating and interesting play areas. Staff gain detailed information about each child's individual needs, interests and stages of development through liaising closely with parents. This includes carrying out home visits to aid children's transition from home to nursery, enabling staff to organise children's favourite toys and activities for when children start. As a result, children feel settled and secure and are ready to learn. Staff know children well and have a secure understanding of how to promote children's learning and development. They carry out ongoing observations and use the information effectively to tailor planning and help children move onto the next steps in their learning. The successful assessment systems enable staff to identify any gaps in children's learning so they can organise specific activities to support children's learning and development. Parents receive regular

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who attend

updates from the staff about their child's progress and are encouraged to share children's achievements at home through 'wow' observations. Staff organise formal meetings to go through children's progress folders with the parents. They discuss how parents can further support their child's learning at home, such as taking home the story bags to read with the children. Staff have effective systems to complete two-year-old progress checks, working closely with parents to include them in the process. This strong partnership helps parents feel fully involved in their child's learning.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is good which means that children are making good progress in their learning and development. Children take part in a wide range of fun and stimulating activities helping to develop their understanding of number and counting. For example, they confidently select the same number of objects from around the room to match with the written number they have in their hand. Staff encourage children to count the number of items helping them to work out if they have collected the correct number of objects. Some children identity they only have three pencils and need 'one more' pencil so they have four pencils. This promotes children's critical thinking as staff allow them to work things out for themselves. Children have great fun joining in the 'teddies trampoline' song, the younger giggle with excitement as they sing the number rhyme and lift the netting to see the soft toys bounce up and down. Staff skilfully extend the activity for the older

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who attend

children asking them to count the number of teddies and as they remove a toy getting the children to work out 'how many are left'. This engages the children well and supports their mathematical development successfully. All children have access to regular sensory play experiences. The babies investigate the small boxes with the textures of sand, cotton wool, gloop and puff paint. Older children explore the sand, shaving foam and paint and show good control as they manipulate the dough. Children press and push the dough into a shape, telling their friends 'there's a chicken inside'.

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who attend

Staff organise set activities to help promote children's communication skills, such as the 'together time' where all children greet each other and sing the 'hello' song then share their news. Children are confident communicators as they chat with their friends and generally join in group discussions. However, at times, staff do not tailor planned group activities for the younger children as they follow the same format with cards used for older children. Consequently, younger children do not always fully engage in the activities which means that some younger children begin to lose interest. All children have access to a good range of easily accessible books and many of the children enjoy sitting quietly with staff to listen to a story. Staff interact positively with babies introducing sounds and modelling words to build on children's vocabulary. Children learn about nature and animals through first hand experiences. They are fascinated to see and touch the baby ducklings

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who attend

and staff supervise children closely, introducing language, such as 'soft' and 'furry' to help extend children's language. Children enjoy weekly music and movement sessions and get actively involved as they sing familiar rhymes and move their bodies. They listen to the instructions well as they shake the musical sticks 'fast' then 'slow' and staff make sure that all children are included. As a result, children have fun and concentrate well as they learn together with their friends.

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

Staff provide a welcoming and nurturing environment. Babies benefit from the calm setting where familiar staff know their routines and follow these so the children feel comfortable. This successfully promotes children's emotional well-being and children build secure attachments. The effective key person systems and regular two-way exchange of information between parents and staff help the staff to make sure that children's individual needs are met. Children have settling sessions before they move on to the next room and staff liaise with each other to make sure children are supported well. Babies are confident to explore their surroundings as they know that familiar staff are close by. Staff interact in a warm and caring manner, providing cuddles and reassurance which means children feel settled and secure. They recognise when younger children are tired and follow the same routine as parents so that children settle to sleep quickly.

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

Children build friendships as they learn to play together nicely. They are occupied and interested in the play activities and as a result, they behave well. Staff act as a good role model and this helps the children learn how to manage their own behaviour. Children take turns to be the 'special helper' and help the staff set the table for lunch. The praise and encouragement they receive from the staff builds children's confidence and self-esteem. Children understand the importance of sharing and taking turns with others, such as waiting to use the spoon to serve their own food at lunch time. Staff sit with children at lunchtime making it a social occasion as they talk with children about their day and promote discussion around healthy eating. Hot nutritious meals are cooked on the premises daily and the cook adapts the food to cater for any special dietary needs. This helps children to remain healthy. Children are familiar with daily routines to maintain good

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

personal hygiene and know to wash their hands before eating. This helps to promote children's good health.

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

Effective security measures are in place. Staff are clear of their role to provide a safe and secure environment for children. They carry out risk assessments of areas used by children and for any outings to help identify and minimise any hazards to children. Children show care and control as they move around the different play spaces. The area becomes busy when children get ready to go outside but staff supervise children well, offering sensitive support as they encourage children to put their shoes and coats on themselves. This helps children become independent in getting themselves dressed. Staff and children take part in regular fire drills so they are clear of the how to evacuate the premises.

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

Indoor and outdoor play areas are generally used well to support children's learning and benefit children's health. Children get regular fresh air and exercise through daily access to a variety of outdoor play activities and experiences. At times, children are able to free- flow between the indoor and outdoor areas, though this is not always maximised to enable children to follow their interests. Children explore all areas confidently, accessing toys of their choice from the extensive range available. The well-resourced enabling environment provides a wide range of good quality resources and play equipment. These are effectively organised at child-height to enable children to freely access materials, such as the good variety of writing tools.

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provision

The management and staff have a secure understanding of the Statutory framework of the Early Years Foundation Stage safeguarding and welfare requirements. Staff are familiar with the nursery safeguarding policy and regularly attend training to help them identify any child protection issues promptly. All staff are clear of the procedures to follow if they have a concern about a child in their care. There are robust recruitment and vetting arrangements in place to check that staff are suitable to work with children. Policies and procedures are shared with parents which keeps them informed of the nursery provision. All the required documentation is maintained to support children's safety and welfare. Records are easily accessible and stored securely to maintain confidentiality.

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provision

Staff have a secure knowledge of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements. The comprehensive systems of observation, assessment and planning support the staff in monitoring children's progress effectively. This includes records to identify if there are any gaps in children's learning enabling staff to successfully tailor planning to children's individual needs. The manager and pre-school leader review the children's learning journals to monitor the delivery of the educational programme. This means that children are supported well and make good progress in their learning and development. The enthusiastic and well-qualified staff team work together well to provide consistency for children. Overall, the sessions run smoothly. However, there is a tendency for some of the activities and routines to be quite adult directed. This means staff do not make the most of the opportunities to enable child-

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provision

initiated play and independent learning.

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provision

The manager has recently taken over the nursery business and has a clear drive for the continuous development of the provision. She carries out clear induction procedures which alongside regular staff supervisions, means that all staff are clear of their roles and responsibilities. Individual staff members have key roles, such as the equal opportunities officer and fire safety officer. They have a responsibility to keep all staff updated of any issues. Staff are encouraged to attend training to refresh their knowledge and skills and some staff have recently attended course on numeracy and building attachments. The manager and staff successfully reflect on their practice. They regularly review activities and routines to look at ways they can make improvements to benefit children. The manager has completed detailed action plans to help prioritise areas for development, such as plans to revamp the outdoor play space to provide children with richer learning

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provision

experiences. She links closely with the local authority early years team to help her focus on the further development of the provision.

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provision

Strong partnerships with parents, carers and others involved in children's care help staff to meet children's needs. They liaise closely with other professionals so that children receive any additional support they need. Staff establish links with local school and organise visits to help prepare older children to get ready for their move onto school. Staff value the ongoing communications with parents that help them to provide consistency and they link children's experiences at home to those they enjoy at the nursery. Parents receive detailed information about the nursery, through the parent pack, notice boards and the nursery website. Staff provide monthly newsletters for parents to share information about what they have been doing with the children, for example, looking at textures and puff painting. They organise evening events for parents on specific topics, such as healthy eating, and provide recipes so parents can try the foods at home.

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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 EY468195 Local authority Bath & NE Somerset Inspection number 939189 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 35 Number of children on roll 64 Name of provider The Learning Tree Day Nursery Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01761431073

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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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