St Mary's Day Nursery

St Mary's Day Nursery Towcester Road, NORTHAMPTON, Northamptonshire, NN4 8EZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/12/2013 23/05/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 1 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

 The quality of teaching is excellent. Managers and staff make effective use of accurate assessments of children's progress to plan activities that enable children to achieve exceptionally well given their starting points and capabilities. Action is taken quickly to support any highlighted gaps in children's learning when they arrive at the nursery.  Partnership working with parents and other professionals and agencies are well established to enable managers and staff to support individual children's needs very effectively.  Children are cared for in a safe environment. Risk assessments are carried out regularly, including after an accident or incident, so that remedial actions can be taken to minimise any future potential risks.

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It is not yet good because

 Nursery systems have not been updated to incorporate recent changes to processes regarding suitability checks to ensure that these are promptly returned to Ofsted when requested.

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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 in the two playrooms and the hall and also observed the nativity play in the church and discussed it with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager of the provision and registered provider.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of adults linked to the nursery, the self-evaluation and improvement plan.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day and of information included in the nursery's own survey.

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Information about the setting

St Mary's Day Nursery is managed by a voluntary management committee and is a registered charity. It was established in 1981 and is registered on the Early Years Register. It operates from rooms within St. Mary's Church buildings in Abbey Road, Far Cotton, which is an area close to Northampton town centre. The nursery is accessible to all children and there are enclosed areas available for outdoor play. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round from 8am until 5.45pm except for bank holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year. There are currently 105 children in the early years age range on roll. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 10 members of childcare staff, of these; seven hold appropriate early years

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must:

 keep abreast of changes to processes to ensure that all adults linked to the registration have undergone the necessary suitability checks.

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who attend

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at this nursery and are happy, active learners. Their learning is exceptionally well promoted because staff fully understand that young children learn by exploring and investigating their environment, relating and communicating with others and engaging physically in their experiences. As a result, children are extremely well motivated and develop a very positive attitude to their learning, laying firm foundations for the future. For example, when two children are noticed pondering how to operate a toy, a member of staff skilfully offers a brief suggestion that enables the children to complete their game to their satisfaction. They were later observed repeating the activity showing that they had remembered the advice given to them.

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who attend

Teaching is outstanding. Managers and staff make excellent use of accurate assessments of children's progress to plan activities that enable children to achieve exceptionally well given their starting points and capabilities. Action is taken quickly to support any highlighted gaps in children's learning, when they arrive at the nursery, enabling them to meet expected milestones. This is particularly evident in relation to children with identified special educational needs and/or disabilities and those children for whom English is an additional language. For example, signing has been introduced into the nursery to support children with a variety of learning needs to enable better communication between adults and children and between children. As a result, all children's communication skills are developing extremely well.

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who attend

Partnership working with parents and other professionals and agencies is exceedingly well established to enable managers and staff to support individual children's needs very effectively. An extensive range of information is gathered at the start of the child's time at nursery about children's interests and achievements as well as their likes, dislikes and care needs. This information is comprehensively assessed and very successfully used by the child's key person and by other staff to aid settling-in and the initial assessment process. It also helps staff when they initially begin to track children's progress towards the early learning goals. The progress check at age two is carried out with the cooperation of parents, in the two to three-year-old room, as part of each child's initial assessment and a copy is given to parents for them to share as they choose. As children progress through the nursery, parents are kept very informed about their children's development through

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who attend

the continuous exchange of information when children arrive and are collected from nursery each day and by adding to and sharing the children's learning journey folders. As a result of the effective assessment and recording of children's progress, parents receive a clear picture of their child's learning and development, which enables them to effectively support their child's learning at home.

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

The effective implementation of the key person system ensures children form strong emotional attachments. Staff gather good information from parents about their child to ensure their individual needs are met. This supports their settling-in and transitions within the nursery enabling them to become independent learners. Children display a good sense of belonging and some, particularly in the three to four-year-old room, are high in confidence and self-esteem. Children learn to cooperate and negotiate with their peers because staff implement a consistent behaviour management system that takes into account children's level of understanding and maturity. This is particularly important for children with additional needs linked to communication, such as children with hearing or speech issues.

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

Children are cared for in a safe environment. Risk assessments are carried out regularly on all areas of the building and the equipment used by children, including after an accident or incident, so that remedial actions can be taken to minimise any future potential risks. As children progress through the nursery they are taught more about how to keep themselves safe, such as when playing close to the partition in the hall, which was the scene of a recent accident. Children experience physical play throughout the day either in the hall or in the outdoor areas. There is a good choice of toys and equipment to support their physical development, imagination and also their understanding of the world as they help to sow, tend and harvest a variety of fruits and vegetables.

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

Children start to learn about self-care when they join the nursery as two-year-olds and become progressively more independent as they move through the nursery. For example, younger children start to select their cutlery and crockery and find their place at the table at meals times, while older children also serve their own food. Children learn to put on coats with a little help from staff, maybe to start off the zip for them. They learn about wearing appropriate clothing for the weather as they get ready to play outside in the winter and about the importance of hats and sun cream in the summer months. Staff are fully aware of the various allergies and health issues that individual children have and care for them according to their parents' wishes. For example, the cook has comprehensive information about children's individual dietary needs and menus and individual dishes are prepared accordingly.

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provision

Managers and staff fully understand their role and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and child protection. Nursery systems have not been updated to incorporate recent changes to the process of obtaining Disclosure and Barring Service checks and returning them to Ofsted in a timely manner. Steps were taken to resolve this issue during the inspection ensuring that no further lapses occur and that any future changes to the requirements to maintain registration are responded to more quickly. The impact of this issue on children is minimal and they remain safe.

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provision

Induction programmes support new staff and training is sought through the local authority to enable existing staff to develop and improve their childcare practice. Regular supervision meetings, staff meetings and annual appraisals take place to further ensure staff understand their role and responsibilities. Managers and senior staff are suitably organised to ensure the day-to-day running of the nursery is effective.

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provision

The managers and senior staff understand their responsibilities with regard to the implementation of the learning and development requirements very well. Teaching and learning is very well monitored across the nursery with effective role modelling and other support available to boost staffs' confidence and teaching abilities where necessary. Monitoring of children's learning enables the managers to quickly identify individual needs so that extra teaching support is provided to close any gaps in learning. Partnership working with other professionals is well established to enable nursery staff to support individual children's needs very effectively and parents comment that they appreciate the support they and their children receive from the current nursery staff.

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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 220164 Local authority Northamptonshire Inspection number 948809

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 38 Number of children on roll 105 Name of provider St Mary's Day Nursery Committee Date of previous inspection 23/05/2011 Telephone number 01604 767923

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Type of provision

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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