Heirs and Graces Day Nursery (Tring) Ltd

Heirs and Graces (TRING) Ltd Heirs & Graces Ltd, Florence House, 2 Christchurch Road, Tring, Hertfordshire, HP23 4EE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 04/03/2014 09/03/2010

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 Teaching is good because all staff are enthusiastic and understand how to promote children's learning and development. Staff motivate children to learn through the purposeful and fun play activities indoors and outside.  Staff make very good use of the local community, helping children develop an interest in the world about them and feel a strong sense of belonging.  Staff are well qualified and eager to improve their already very good practice. The leadership and management of the nursery are effective and focus clearly on ensuring standards are very well maintained.  Parents and carers are welcomed warmly into the setting and are involved in their children's learning and development. This results in a homely, inviting environment for families.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff occasionally overlook opportunities to fully challenge children's thinking by asking open-ended questions and giving them the consequences of their actions.  On occasions, staff do not always organise the mealtime routine sufficiently well, to ensure that the younger children are actively involved in their learning rather than waiting with nothing to do.

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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 and the interactions between children and adults in the playrooms and the outside learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager and held discussions with the provider and the manager of the nursery.  The inspector looked at a sample of children's records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children, and the provider's improvement plan.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Heirs and Graces Day Nursery registered in 2006 and is on the Early Years Register. It operates from four base rooms, over three floors, in a converted Victorian house close to the centre of Tring, Hertfordshire. It is close to local schools and residential areas. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area which is partially covered. It is open Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm for 49 weeks of the year. The nursery employs 26 members of childcare staff. Of these, 20 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, including six with Early Years Professional Status, Qualified Teacher Status and early years degrees. There are currently 106 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery cares for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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

 strengthen teaching and learning experiences even further, for example, by extending the use of open-ended questions to help children think for themselves and learn about the consequences of their actions

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

 enhance opportunities for children to be fully involved in purposeful play, by monitoring and minimising time waiting during some mealtimes.

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who attend

Staff are knowledgeable and teaching is based on their secure understanding of how children learn. Children make good progress because staff make effective use of challenging educational programmes across all the areas of learning that support children's learning and development. Staff gather information from parents when children start, to help identify children's starting points and ensuring that accurate information is passed between children's key person, when children move up to the next room. Staff make regular and precise observations and assessments of children's learning. Evidence of children's progress is clearly recorded in their learning journals and includes good, regular written observations, photographs and examples of their work. The informative and summative assessments have all the necessary information to successfully inform the progress check for children aged two. This ensures that staff are fully aware children are

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who attend

progressing well towards the early learning goals, over time, given their starting points. Staff use children's interests to add to the continuous provision sheet, to make effective plans, helping children progress in their learning and development. For example, dolls and pushchairs are taken into the garden to help children, including those that are more reluctant, to enjoy playing on a larger and more active scale outside.

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who attend

Staff provide many rich, varied and imaginative experiences for children, across the nursery. These good teaching strategies help children to be motivated and eager to learn. Older children eagerly express their interest in pirates, inspired by a story about mermaids. They develop exciting activities making ships from boxes, inventing their own games and stories about pirates and mermaids. Staff encourage children to express their ideas, as they build a house from interlocking rods. Children work together making large structures into 'hoses' and play imaginative games of putting out fires. However, occasionally, staff in the younger children's age range do not always ask open-ended questions to fully promote children's thinking, for example, as they experience tactile materials. Staff support children's language and communication skills extremely well. Babies and young children's emerging speech is very well supported as staff speak clearly

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who attend

and introduce different tones and rhythms in their voices. They constantly chat to them, providing new vocabulary and repeating what they say. Staff introduce a game to children, where they are learning the rules of the game, including taking turns. Children listen closely to the soundtrack, recognising the sound of the animal to match on their cards. Staff are gentle and patient, reminding children to listen again and asking for their thoughts on what animal could sound like that. This helps children to maintain their focus and show high levels of fascination, leading to a great deal of pleasure when they complete the game. This helps them to be ready for the next stage of their learning and eventually for school. Staff are well deployed to support children's learning. They sit close by to read stories, and children learn to handle books carefully turning the pages. Staff extend children's vocabulary as they read a book on sharks together. Staff give new

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who attend

information and help children understand the size of krill by comparing the size of the children's fingers. This helps children to gain knowledge and understanding of the world around them. However, on occasions, the younger children have to sit together at the table, waiting for everyone to be ready for lunch. Consequently, this does not fully value the younger children's sense of exploration or stimulate their interest.

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who attend

Parents receive an extensive range of useful information about their child's day, both on daily sheets and in the home nursery diaries. Staff give details of children's activities through regular consultation meetings and in the termly summary assessments. Parents take home their child's learning journals, encouraging them to share the information on their child's learning and development with other family members. Parents' comments about their children's learning at home are eagerly sought by the key person to inform plans for their further development. Staff strongly support children's learning at home as there is a nursery book sharing scheme, and parents can borrow boxes with the words of the nursery songs and props to help children enjoy singing at home with their parents.

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

Children are happy and eager to attend the nursery. They build good relationships with their key person. Children and parents are able to spend time with their key person as part of their settling-in time before they start to discuss the individual needs of their children. Staff discuss with parents how their babies are settling-in, to establish ways of responding to babies' emotions. For example, staff encourage parents to bring babies' comforters from home. Management provides extra staff during the settling-in process, to support new babies, and for them to be fully comforted when upset. This helps babies to build emotional stability and resilience. The moves between rooms are well organised and managed in a timely way, so that the process is gradual, enabling children to acquaint themselves with their new key person, routines and to make new friends. Staff frequently visit the baby room, so they are familiar to the babies long before they start the transition

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

process. Staff share valuable information on each child's likes and dislikes, and children visit their new room many times before they are officially transferred. This helps children to be emotionally prepared for changes in their routines and eventually for the move onto school. Staff are warm and caring towards children. They feed babies closely in the arms, comfortably seated in calm surroundings. This supports babies to become confident in inviting surroundings. Staff ensure the learning environment is well organised, and allow children to explore and make decisions for themselves. This enables them to be independent and make good progress in their learning and development. Staff in the baby room are committed to providing activities which develop babies' natural instincts to explore their environment. There are many natural materials of varying textures to help them make connections in their learning, through their senses and through movement.

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

Children thoroughly enjoy playing in the 'all weather' garden and learn new skills in a larger more active way, as they count the steps up to the top of the slide.

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

Staff support children to develop a strong sense of belonging. All children have their own peg and box, or drawer labelled with their name and photograph to put their work and keep their personal belongings. Children's work is very well displayed. Young children's work is displayed by hanging from the ceiling, so they can see it but without it being damaged by the other children. Staff support children to learn to behave well. They have recently fully discussed behaviour management at a team meeting, to reinforce their good practice. Staff are clear and consistent. They gently encourage children to tidy away the cars before getting out the construction toys. Staff help children to manage their own behaviour, as they use a sand timer to know when their turn on the computer is at an end. Staff offer appropriate praise giving suitable reasons such as 'good listening' to help children know the expectation of good behaviour. Generally, children are given the

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

consequences of their actions. They are learning to use the stairs safely, going up one at a time with no overtaking and holding the handrail. However, occasionally younger children are not given the reasons for holding the handrail when going down the stairs, to fully support children's reasoning skills.

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

Children have valuable opportunities to learn about the local community. They frequently walk to the local Natural History Museum. They enjoy touching the interactive displays and parents comment that they were talking enthusiastically about the visit, for several days. Staff regularly use the adjacent school field to allow children to exercise vigorously and take part in a favourite activity, such as searching for bugs. Staff use these visits to help children learn to recognise risks and to keep themselves safe, without being fearful. Staff, parents and children join together for fundraising events for local charities and celebrate traditional festivals, acknowledging the festivals of others. Children brought in contributions for the local food bank during the Harvest Festival. This helps them learn to respect about the lives of others. Children are learning about healthy living as they learn to do some self-care tasks independently. Staff sensitively support children to begin to

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

dress themselves and to freely access drinking water. The nursery provides freshly prepared, very tasty and nutritious meals that children relish eating. Parents comment on how well their children eat at nursery and how they have developed new tastes. Staff obtain information from parents about children's individual needs and ensures that food allergies and references are respected and catered for.

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provision

The nursery management gives a high priority to safeguarding children, and to provide a safe and secure environment for them to play and learn. The management have strong risk assessments and staff ensure that the premises are safe and well maintained. Before children are taken on outings, staff always walk the route, visiting the premises to recognise and minimise any hazards to children that they may encounter while on outings. The inspection took place following a notification from the provider, which raised concerns about the nursery's behaviour management procedures and the suitability of staff. The inspection found that the providers acted swiftly to investigate a concern raised by a parent. They fully reviewed and strengthened the staff deployment and behaviour management policies and procedures. The provider took rapid action to ensure that staff are suitable and well trained, and that children remain safe and well cared for. The

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provision

providers ensure that staff quickly ask for support when necessary, and staff have discussed and agreed strategies to manage children's behaviour well. This helps to further promote children's safety. Nursery staff are an experienced team and know the importance of safeguarding children. There are robust recruitment and checking systems to assess that staff are suitable for their role of working with children and remain suitable to do so. The management team monitor staff performance effectively through regular supervision meetings and appraisals; any underachievement by staff is quickly tackled. Staff are confident to report their concerns, including about any colleagues, in accordance with the safeguarding policy. They know how to recognise signs that children may be at risk, so their welfare is safeguarded. Management are fully aware of changes that must be notified to Ofsted.

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provision

Leadership is focused and demonstrates a strong commitment to improving the quality of the nursery. The well-qualified and very motivated staff team have a clear drive for continuous improvement of the nursery. Senior staff write detailed reflective diaries to inform their practice. They use this information well to form highly relevant action plans and target areas for further improvement. Management purchase games, at the request of staff, that they know will help specific children make progress and to narrow the gaps in their achievements. The setting has effective systems for monitoring the children's learning and development. Tracking documents and the completion of the progress check at age two ensures children's development is monitored well. This helps to ensure that children continue to make good progress in their learning.

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provision

Staff build strong and effective relationships with other professionals. This ensures that appropriate interventions are secured for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities so that children and their families receive very good support. Staff are in close contact with local schools and other provisions that children attend. This effectively supports continuity in their care and learning. Parents have been consulted through regular meetings and questionnaires, and are given useful information on the website and social media sites. Parents spoken to on the day of the inspection, state how happy they, and their children are with the nursery.

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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 EY319588 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 954080

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 48 Number of children on roll 106 Name of provider Heirs and Graces (TRING) LTD Date of previous inspection 09/03/2010 Telephone number 01442891818

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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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