Sammy Snail Day Care

Sammy Snail Day Care 227 Heath Way, BIRMINGHAM, B34 6QU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 27/03/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 Staff help children develop their language and communication skills through songs, stories and small group discussions.  Staff provide a wide range of information for parents through daily discussions, information boards and regular newsletters, which ensures parents are kept updated.  Staff have a suitable understanding of safeguarding procedures, which helps to protect children and keep them safe from harm.

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It is not yet good because

 Staff do not always make good use of observations and information from children's starting points to clearly identify the next steps in learning. As a result, some activities are not planned well enough to provide good levels of interest and challenge to help children make good progress.  Staff do not provide children with enough opportunities to help them recognise letters of their names, which does not fully support their literacy skills.  The system for self-evaluation has yet to be fully considered in order to provide an accurate reflection of the setting's strengths and weaknesses, to ensure that improvement plans are effectively implemented. Parents' and children's views are not regularly gathered to help identify all future priorities.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the manager, staff and children at appropriate times throughout the day.  The inspector carried joint observations with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation including children's records, learning and development information, staff records and a selection of policies and procedures.  The inspector took account of the views of parents through discussion.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of staffs' suitability, and a range of policies and record keeping procedures.

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Information about the setting

Sammy Snail Day Care registered in 2013 as a limited company. It is privately owned. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from one main playroom in a community building in the Shard End of Birmingham. The nursery also uses the computer suite on some occasions. The nursery is currently located on the ground floor of the building. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery serves the local community and surrounding areas. There are currently 30 children on roll in the early years age range. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The nursery is open Monday to Friday, all year round apart from one week at Christmas. Sessions are from 9am until 3pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery cares for children whose parents attend courses in the centre. There are currently five

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Information about the setting

members of staff, of whom one has a qualification at level 6 and four staff have qualifications at level 3. The nursery cares for children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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must:

 make better use of ongoing observations, assessments and children's starting points, to help plan for the next steps in children's learning; ensure activities clearly match future learning experiences, and provide sufficient challenge for individual children to help them make the best possible progress.

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

 extend children's awareness of letters, for example, by providing more opportunities to help them learn and recognise their names

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

 extend the system for improvement and self-evaluation by more accurately identifying and planning for all future priorities and give parents and children more opportunities to share their views.

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who attend

Children make acceptable progress in their learning and development as staff provide a suitable range of activities, which support their interests. Staff carry out regular observations and have suitable systems to assess children's development. However, staff do not always use this information well enough in their planning. Furthermore, staff do not always collect enough information on children's starting points, which means they are not able to effectively plan for next stages in children's learning. This means that the planning of some activities is not always well matched to children's individual learning needs, in order to specifically shape future learning experiences to help them make the best possible progress. For example, staff plan an activity to help children learn the first letter of their name. However, the activity lacks sufficient interest and challenge for individual children. Some children have name cards to support this activity, but staff do not use this

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who attend

to help children learn and recognise their names. This means that children make satisfactory rather than good progress in their learning.

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who attend

Children learn about colours and numbers as they enjoy threading activities. They are able to sort beads in size order. Role-play activities, such as the shop provides opportunities for children to express themselves. They play with real vegetables, such as carrots, peppers and broccoli which supports their awareness of healthy foods. Children enjoy their favourite songs, such as 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' which helps to develop their language. Staff use suitable teaching methods, such as one-to-one interaction and ask open-ended questions to help children learn. Appropriate procedures are developing to support children who speak English as an additional language. This includes use of pictures and collecting familiar words from parents to support children. Bilingual staff talk to children in their home language which supports their additional language.

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who attend

Staff are beginning to encourage parents to support children's learning at home through daily feedback on activities children enjoy at the nursery. Regular opportunities to access the garden help to support children's physical skills as they use a range of equipment, such as the slide and cars. Children make sounds as they play with the spoons and saucepans hanging in the garden which supports their creativity. Staff support children's investigation skills as they encourage them to look for insects with a magnifier. They are able to identify several pictures of bugs around the tree, such as ladybirds and slugs which helps them to learn about living creatures. Staff encourage children to put on outdoor clothing, such as coats and how to do zips, which helps them to gain the necessary independence skills for the next stage in their learning.

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

Children are developing positive relationships with staff, which helps to support their security. Appropriate procedures are in place to help children settle in the nursery which includes a gradual settling-in process. Younger children often visit the nursery to pick up their siblings which means they are familiar with the staff and the nursery. The key person plans activities for children in their group and ensures she stays nearby to reassure them and help children bond with her. Staff encourage parents to provide comfort items, such as beakers and toys which helps children to settle.

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

Children show a suitable understanding of healthy lifestyles as they follow appropriate hygiene routines, such as washing their hands prior to eating and using the toilet. Some children bring their own packed lunch which ensures their individual dietary needs are met. Staff advise parents about appropriate contents to ensure food remains fresh to support children's health. The nursery provides a range of healthy snacks, such as sandwiches, toast and fresh fruit to help promote a healthy lifestyle. Staff provide opportunities to support children's independence as they serve their own snacks and spread jam on their toast. Staff support positive behaviour through the ladder system where children place their names at different levels. They are learning about simple rules, such as to be kind, share and consider others, which helps to develop their emotional well-being.

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

Staff provide a wide range of toys, equipment and furniture both inside and outside in the fresh air. This supports children's interests and enables them to extend their learning outside. Toys are stored in low-level units to allow children to make choices and decisions about their play. Staff help children learn about road safety through discussions and outings in the community. Children know they must walk and not run off which helps them to take responsibility for their own safety. Regular fire evacuations with staff supports children's awareness of what to do in an emergency situation. Suitable procedures are in place to help children prepare for their move to school. This includes discussions and stories about starting school.

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provision

Staff have an adequate understanding of safeguarding procedures and have the local guidance to refer to. They suitably understand their responsibility to safeguard children in the event of child protection concerns. Suitable recruitment and vetting procedures ensure all staff employed are suitable to work with children and this includes a Disclosure and Barring Service check for all staff. Child and staff ratios are adequately maintained through appropriate staff deployment throughout the nursery, which supports children's safety and well-being. Appropriate attendance records are kept for children, staff and visitors which helps to protect children. Staff carry out daily checks to help minimise potential hazards, both inside and outside. Safety equipment, such as extending gates and fire safety equipment helps to keep children safe.

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provision

Staff have positive relationships with parents and share both verbal and written information about their child's routine and the activities they participate in. Regular newsletters and the information board provide information about activities and topics, which enables parents to be involved in their children's learning. Parents express their satisfaction with the care their children receive at the nursery. They state that the staff keep them well informed of their children's care and progress. Children do not attend other early years settings, however, suitable procedures are in place to help to provide consistency in children's learning.

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provision

The nursery has started to evaluate the educational programme through regular staff meetings and support from the local authority. However, systems are not fully robust with regard to the planning of some activities to ensure they are appropriate and provide good levels of challenge and support for individual children. Staff have identified some areas for development, such as making better use of the outdoor play area to help extend children's imagination. However, the process is not yet rigorous enough and the nursery has not had the opportunity to fully consider the views of parents and children in the process of improvement. Suitable systems are in place to support staff development through supervision which helps to support children's progress.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Requires improvement The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected within twelve months of the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement action. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of

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Grade Judgement Description

the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY470417 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 936915 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 17 Number of children on roll 30 Name of provider Sammy Snail Ltd Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 0121 675 8412

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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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