Toad Hall Nursery Berkhamsted

Toad Hall Nursery Gossoms End, Victory Road, Berkhamsted, HP4 1DL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 27/01/2014 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 secure in their play; they are keen and motivated learners. Children make good progress as the well-qualified staff have a good understanding of how children learn through well-planned and challenging play opportunities.  Children develop strong bonds with their key person. There are good links with parents, which ensures the individual care and learning needs of each child is effectively planned for.  The leadership of the nursery is strong. Effective management of staff and ongoing training ensure they have the skills they need to extend and promote children's learning and progress to a good level.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to reflect the different ways children learn, by extending the use of timelines, pictures and photographs, so that younger children and those with English as an additional language are able to express their preferences and make decisions about routines and activities.  The routines at snack and lunch times do not fully promote children's independence or build on their developing skills, such as setting tables, self-serving and pouring drinks.

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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 talked to children in the baby room and pre-school room. She watched them take part in a variety of activities, play outside and have their lunch.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector talked to staff and parents about children's care, development and daily routines.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager in the outside play area for pre-school children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a selection of documents relating to complaints, safeguarding, the welfare needs of the children and management of the nursery.

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Information about the setting

Toad Hall Nursery, registered in 2013 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. It is one of 13 nurseries run by Careroom Ltd which operates Toad Hall Nursery Group. The nursery is situated next to the health centre in Gossam End, Berkhamstead in Hertfordshire. Children are cared for in five home rooms depending on their ages and stages of development. There is free-flow play to the outside from each room. Children come from the immediate and surrounding areas, attending a variety of sessions. The nursery offers core hours from 8am to 6pm and offer their service from 7.30am on request. It is open for 51 weeks of the year closing for Christmas and bank holidays. The nursery is in receipt of funding for two-, three- and four-year-old children and supports children who speak English as an additional language. There are a total of 59 children on roll. Toad Hall nursery employs 11 members of staff, including the manager

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Information about the setting

who holds a degree in early years education and Early Years Professional Status. Of the other staff, three hold qualifications at level 6, one at level 5, one at level 4, three at level 3 and one has a qualification at level 2. The nursery has a full-time cook. The nursery is a member of the National Day Nurseries Association, the Pre-school Learning Alliance and they receive support from the local authority early years development team.

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

 help younger children and those with English as an additional language to express their preferences, thoughts and feelings about the activities and their play opportunities, for example, by developing the use of timelines, pictures and photographs showing familiar events, objects and activities

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

 extend children's independence especially at snack and mealtimes by enabling them to take responsibility for preparing snacks, serving themselves and pouring their own drinks.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is good because all staff have a secure knowledge of how children learn through play. They use this knowledge well, planning a broad and diverse programme of stimulating activities to extend and promote children's learning and development. The nursery uses 'Toad Hall' planning, observation and assessment documents to monitor children's achievements and to assess their learning needs. There is a comprehensive settling-in process, the information gained from parents as children join the nursery is used as the basis for the first steps in learning. The interests of each child are used to plan for their individual learning, so children make good progress in relation to their starting points. The progress check at age two is shared with parents at a planned meeting, so they are fully aware of young children's recently acquired skills and how they can support them at home. Home observations sheets are used by parents to share

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who attend

experiences from home, these are added to the children's learning journals, so staff can build on events and support children's learning by talking about previous experiences they have enjoyed.

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who attend

The babies and younger children have their learning needs well met. They are cared for in dedicated rooms with age-appropriate toys and resources. Staff know the children well, they use the information from the 'All about me' form, completed by parents to ensure children's individual needs are recognised and met to a very good level. Young children and babies are very keen to join in a spontaneous singing session. Staff sit on the floor, children join them, sitting on their laps and on large soft blocks. Children are clearly very familiar with the simple songs which extend and promote their language and physical skills. The very youngest children are involved in reaching up to show a twinkling star, they join in simple actions to show how to drive a bus. They watch the staff intently when they introduce new songs, copying actions and clapping with great enthusiasm. The pre- school rooms provide a stimulating and interesting learning environment for the older

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who attend

children to explore. Staff teach children to recognise letters and sounds with small group activities. Children select their named photographs to put on the wall display, they are learning the letters and sounds which make their name. This dedicated group time gives children opportunities to talk about their new friends, previous experiences at home and to plan what they would like to do. Overall children's language is developing well. Within the room for the younger children, some staff use Makaton signs and visual aids to encourage children to make their needs known and to help them in understanding simple requests. Children can ask for a drink or to play outside by pointing to a picture card. However, the use of visual aids is not consistently used across the nursery so, younger children and those who speak English as an additional language are not fully able to express their preferences and make decisions about the routines and activities. Each of

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who attend

the home rooms has access to an age-appropriate outside play area. The nursery works with the in-house 'Let's get physical' programme to extend physical development for children of all ages. Staff introduce children to the game of skittles and all children are very keen to take part. They teach children to line up to take their turn and show them how to roll the ball to bowl the skittles over. Children are encouraged to choose from different balls and how they want to knock them over, some children kick the ball. Staff teach the children about the colours and ask them to count the skittles both standing and those that have been knocked down. Children's learning is linked to interesting activities they enjoy taking part in, consequently their social and early counting skills are developing well.

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who attend

The nursery informs parents about their commitment to providing an interesting learning environment for all children, as they give them a guide to the Early Years Foundation Stage in the parent handbook. The nursery uses the in-house planning and evaluation process to ensure children are gaining the skills they need to move onto other early years settings, such as school, with confidence.

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

Children are developing strong bonds with their key persons and the whole staff team. They are confident in seeking comfort from adults who are kind and responsive to the children individual care needs. A comprehensive settling-in process gives parents time to talk to their key person and for children to become confident in their surroundings. A well- understood open door policy enables parents to call anytime, to talk about their children's needs. The nursery provides healthy and nutritious meals, and snacks in line with family and dietary requirements. All food is prepared on site by the nursery cook. She is a frequent visitor to the home rooms and children are very pleased to see her, as staff ask the children to thank her for their delicious meals. Snack and lunch times are managed well. Staff sit with the children to teach them how to feed themselves and to help when needed. However, children's independence is not always maximised because they are not

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

fully involved in preparing their own snacks or in preparing the table for snack and lunch time. They do not have opportunities to choose implements they need to compete a task and to say when they do or do not need help.

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

Children's well-being and safety are of high priority. The manager ensures staff are appropriately deployed around the nursery to monitor children's well-being at all times. She ensures ratios are met and manages the rotas for early morning cover and staff breaks effectively. Children's behaviour is managed well by staff; they use distraction and simple explanations to help children learn what is acceptable. As a result, children's behaviour is good.

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

Children learn how to manage their own safety, staff teach them to be aware of children playing nearby and ask them to take care when riding the bikes around the outside play area. They are reminded to wait, to share and to takes turns. Simple rules are in place to ensure all children enjoy the play and learning experiences. Staff teach children about good personal care through everyday routines. Children are learning to be independent as they put on their hats and coats to play outside. The nursery teaches children the importance of a healthy lifestyle with a range of physical and sporting activities planned throughout the week. A sports coach comes into the nursery to teach children new skills, providing children with the opportunity to meet with other adults who can extend and support their learning. Children are developing good social skills; they are learning how to be part of a group and to take turns, which helps ensure they are emotionally well

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

prepared for new experiences, such as when they start school.

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provision

The manager and staff are supported well by the head office and regional support team. The highly qualified team strive to deliver good quality care and learning for all children. Robust recruitment, staff appraisals and training ensures all adults working with the children are suitable to do so. The nursery works with the Local Safeguarding Children Board and in-house safeguarding procedures. All staff have a good understanding of the safeguarding policy, ensuring any concerns about children's well-being are referred to the appropriate agencies. Robust risk assessments and effective daily routines ensure children are supervised at all times and cared for in a well-managed environment.

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provision

The management and staff have a strong commitment to continuous improvements and training. Regular team and room meetings, in-house training and courses run by the local authority support staff in their professional development. This enables them to promote children's learning through effective planning and learning opportunities. There is a robust induction process; new staff spoken to during inspection said they were supported well. The nursery has introduced the 'Stork to Walk' training programme for staff, which ensures they are aware of the needs of the younger children in their care and plan effectively to promote their developing skills. A robust evaluation process identifies strengths and weakness throughout the nursery. Effective action plans ensure areas identified to improve the outcomes for children are addressed. Staff and parents' views are sought to enable the manager to review the overall practice of the nursery and to

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provision

consistently promote children care and learning to a good level.

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provision

Partnership working with parents is good. Those spoken to at the time of the inspection talked about how much they valued their child's key person and how their children enjoyed coming to the nursery. At the end of each day, parents of children under three years of age are given a summary of their children's day. A communication book is used to share information about children's personal care needs, so both parents and key staff manage children's well-being to a good level. The nursery has a very informative website and regular newsletters, sent by email, ensure parents are fully informed about day-to-day issues. There is a secure social network page so parents and staff can share in events and planned themes to support children's learning at home. Parents views are sought through the 'You said, we did' display in the foyer. Parents share ideas and comments, and the nursery posts information about how they have improved their practice. For example,

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provision

parents queried childrens' access to the natural world, so the nursery implemented walks and play opportunities to the park land next to the nursery. This demonstrates how the views of parents are used to improve overall practice and outcomes for all children.

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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 EY465422 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 950084 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 72 Number of children on roll 59 Name of provider Careroom Limited Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01462427020

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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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