The Farningham Day Nursery

The Farningham Day Nursery 13-14 Eynsford Road, Farningham, Dartford, Kent, DA4 0BD

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/05/2014 27/11/2009

p.1

early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

p.1

This provision is outstanding

 Children are motivated and eager to take part in the stimulating activities. There is exceptional continuous provision to support the learning and development for all children.  Staff have an exemplary knowledge and understanding of how children learn, and how to challenge them. This helps children to make significant progress.  The nursery promotes excellent partnership with parents, which means the children have highly consistent care for their learning and development.  Children are cared for in an extremely safe and secure environment where highly effective risk assessments are used efficiently to ensure their ongoing health and safety.  Leadership and management are exceptionally strong in the nursery. Managers monitor staff performance closely and identify areas for development in supporting the best outcomes for children.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities inside and outdoors.  The inspector spoke to the manager, staff, children and parents.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the deputy manager.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's profiles, observations and planning and discussed how staff use these to support children's learning and development.

p.2

Information about the setting

Farningham Day Nursery registered in 2005. It is registered on the Early Year Register and there are currently 69 children in the early years age range on roll. The nursery operates from a detached house in Farningham, Kent. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am until 6pm for 51 weeks of the year. It also offers extended hours, opening from 7.30am and closing at 6.30pm on request. Children access the downstairs areas of the property only, and share access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery employs 15 staff. Of these, 11 staff, including the manager, hold appropriate early years qualifications, and the room supervisor is completing a BA Honours degree in Early Years Studies with Early Years Professional Status. There is one member of staff currently working towards a level 3 early years qualification.

p.3

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

 extend opportunities for children to see examples of print in the outdoor environment to fully maximise their early reading skills.

p.3

who attend

Staff demonstrate an extremely secure knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children thrive in a motivating environment where there is a wide range of opportunities to explore, investigate and show high level of engagement during activities. Staff use skilled questioning to encourage children to think for themselves, predict what might happen next, and actively explore different outcomes. For example, children predict what might happen if certain colours are mixed together and then test out their predictions.

p.3

who attend

Staff provide an exciting and nurturing environment with an excellent range of continuous provision, inside and outdoors. This enables children to make independent choices to activities across the nursery. As a result, the staff promotes a calm environment where children are able to explore, investigate and find out more. Staff in all rooms provide a highly stimulating level of challenge for all children as they play. Babies are fully engaged in their learning as they play in a warm, nurturing environment in the baby room. They experience textures and sounds with a range of age appropriate activities. Staff use thorough assessments to identify children's progress and track their achievements from the moment they start at the nursery. As a result, children have the opportunity to extend their learning through enhanced provision developing their individual needs. Staff give high priority to supporting children's next stage in their learning and preparing them for

p.3

who attend

school. For example, staff encourage children to develop their independence and self-help skills through managing their own clothing, such as placing their socks in their shoes.

p.4

who attend

Children show they are active learners as they take part in a variety of activities indoors and outside. Children are confident to transport resources and link them to their play. Older group of children are very interested in looking for ants. Staff extend this activity, encouraging children to look under logs and in the grass. Children use magnifiers and binoculars to describe what the ant looks like and how they move, with the older children supporting the younger ones. This enables all children to feel included and be actively involved in the activity. Staff are inspiring for the children and provide opportunities to challenge and stimulate the children's learning and understanding. Staff very positively support and enhance children's personal, social and emotional development. Therefore, children demonstrate very good levels of self-esteem and confidence. Children participate effectively at tidy up time, showing care and consideration for their equipment. Resources

p.4

who attend

are clearly labelled, enabling children of all abilities to independently tidy away activities competently.

p.4

who attend

Staff promote communication and language development effectively. For example, staff crouch down to the child's level and make eye contact, use visual gestures and signing. Staff are very respectful of children's efforts to speak; they listen to everything the children have to say, and the children know their speech is valued. Staff support children who speak English as an additional language very well. For example, staff speak to children in their home language, use key words given by the parents, and play nursery rhymes in their home language. This means that children learn to link their home language with English effectively through staff's thoughtful support in this welcoming and nurturing environment.

p.4

who attend

Staff are extremely successful in engaging all parents to ensure they are fully included in their child's learning and development in the setting. They meet with the parents daily to liaise about their child's day. They also meet with parents three times a year to go through each child's developmental records. This time is used to discuss and plan the next steps in the child's learning and development. Staff encourage parental feedback to strengthen their practice through regular questionnaires, a parent liaison committee, and a comments and suggestions box.

p.4

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

Children are happy, extremely confident and have fun in the highly stimulating learning environment, both indoors and outside. They access a wide range of high quality resources which staff label very clearly. This means children can confidently access resources which interest them. Children and babies have built close relationships with key members of staff. Children receive high levels of support and are well-prepared for any move, either within the nursery or on to school.

p.4

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

There is a highly effective key-person system in place across the nursery. This means that children are very secure emotionally. Even the children who are new to the nursery show that they feel safe and secure. Staff take time to get to know the children and their families through a settling-in period. They are caring and skilled in supporting children to form secure attachments. The continual sharing of information between home and nursery ensures children's needs are exceptionally well met, and the move from home to nursery is smooth. Staff also support children with their move on to school. They encourage the teacher to visit the nursery to meet the children and ensure information is passed on. Staff use role play and provide a uniform box for children to use to dress up as they play being at school. This thorough preparation ensures that children are emotionally ready for their next stage in their learning and development.

p.4

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

Safety is given high priority by the staff team. A thorough risk assessment system is in place to ensure that children are cared for in a safe environment. The indoor and outdoor areas are risk assessed twice a day to ensure children's ongoing safety and well-being. Children learn how to keep themselves safe with the excellent support from the staff. They behave exceptionally well in a calm and stimulating environment. Children are supported to develop skills, such as sharing and turn taking, which are promoted by staff during play.

p.5

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

Children enjoy a healthy, well balanced selection of snacks throughout the morning and afternoon, along with the choice of milk or water. Recently the nursery has introduced a rolling snack bar where the children can choose the time they would like their snack. The feedback from staff reports it works extremely well for the children. Mealtimes are well managed, as staff sit with small groups of children. Children learn to use cutlery successfully and the younger children are encouraged to feed themselves with praise from the staff. Staff engage in conversation with the children, promoting a calm and sociable time for the children to enjoy their meal. Staff provide daily opportunities for physical exercise and fresh air. The outdoor area provides an extensive variety of play experiences which incorporates all areas of learning exceptionally well. A broad selection of physical activities promotes the development of children's larger muscles. For example, children

p.5

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

use bikes, scooters, large and small climbing equipment, large tyres and a pirate ship.

p.5

provision

Safeguarding children is a high priority at this nursery. Staff are fully aware of their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children and the procedure to follow should concerns arise about the welfare of any child. All staff have up-to-date training and there is a designated officer for safeguarding in place, with a deputy officer due to attend training. All staff are subject to rigorous recruitment procedures, and Disclosure and Barring Service checks are completed for all staff and students to confirm their suitability to work with children. Induction procedures are thorough and all staff are aware of and follow the nursery's policies and procedures. Staff are actively involved with any changes or updates to policies and procedures. There is highly effective deployment of staff across the nursery. This enables children to be supervised at all times and receive excellent care and attention. The nursery is safe and secure, and risk assessments are thorough to help

p.5

provision

ensure children's safety remains paramount. The commitment and vision of the manager and staff is inspirational as they strive for the best outcomes for the children and families. They have excellent understanding of their responsibilities in meeting all the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage There is a strong ethos of reflection and evaluation. Highly effective monitoring identifies any groups of children who may need extra support, as well as individual children. The manager knows her staff extremely well. Supervisions and appraisals help staff and the manager to identify strengths and areas for development, leading to an individual training plan. The manager encourages staff to carry out peer to peer observations of each other as part of their professional development.

p.5

provision

Parents enjoy exemplary levels of involvement in the nursery. They receive detailed information about their child's day and activities through a contact dairy in the baby room, and daily verbal handovers for the older children. The nursery has an informative website where parents can access ongoing information with a termly newsletter. Staff work with parents and other professionals to devise shared strategies where children have additional needs. This means children can make rapid progress as they learn from having a consistent approach. The nursery is a significant part of the community. Children regularly visit the local mobile library and church with the staff and enjoy trips to the local park together. This means children develop an extensive knowledge about their own community. Parents are highly complementary of the nursery. They say that staff have supported their children immensely, and are extremely pleased how caring and

p.6

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

p.7

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.

p.7

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.

p.8

Setting details

Unique reference number EY311882 Local authority Kent Inspection number 827189

p.8

Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 69 Number of children on roll 34 Name of provider Gillian Anne Mitchell Date of previous inspection 27/11/2009 Telephone number 01322 866880

p.8

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.

p.8

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

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,

p.9

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’.

p.10

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10