Heather's Day Nursery

Heathers Day Nursery James Backhouse Place, Holgate, York, North Yorkshire, YO24 4NS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/04/2014 18/02/2010

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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

 Staff have a very good understanding of how children learn. Their good teaching methods provide supportive and well-planned learning environments in which children thrive.  Managers have a clear understanding of the nursery's strengths and weaknesses. They also take the views of parents and other professionals into account to make changes and improvements to the nursery environment and staff practice.  A strong and well-established key person system successfully helps children and parents settle into the nursery. As a result, children are confident, happy and ready to take part in the learning activities on offer.  Children are cared for by well-qualified staff who have access to regular training and professional development opportunities, which they use to improve how they support children's learning and development.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Children's two-year-old progress checks provide parents with a clear overview of what their child is good at and what might be a cause for concern but the action the nursery proposes to take if a child does need extra support is too brief.  Staff have regular one-to-one supervision meetings with the manager but the current agenda does not routinely provide the opportunity for staff to discuss any concerns about children's well-being and development.

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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 observed activities in the two playrooms and the outdoor learning environment.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector held meetings with the manager of the nursery.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of staff working with children and the nursery self-evaluation documents.  The inspector spoke to parents, carers and staff and took their views into account.

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Information about the setting

Heather's Day Nursery is run by the charity York Childcare. It opened in 1995 and operates from two large rooms and one small one within purpose built premises, solely on the ground floor. The nursery is situated in Holgate, a suburb of York. A maximum of 36 children may attend the nursery at any one time, it is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm all year round, with the exception of Bank Holidays. The children have access to a secure enclosed outdoor area.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 68 children aged from four months to five years on roll. Of these, 25 children receive funding for nursery education and the setting is part of the Pathfinder Project for two year olds. Children attend from the surrounding areas. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 16 staff, of whom 14, including the manager hold appropriate early years qualifications. Two staff members are graduates, one has Early Years Professional Status and two staff are studying for foundation degrees. The nursery is a member of the National Day Nursery Association (NDNA) and the Pre School Learning Alliance (PLA).

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

 develop the staff supervision system and proforma so that there is a clear opportunity for staff to discuss their key children and any concerns, and keep a record of this.

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

 improve the two-year-old progress check report by making it clear what action the nursery proposes to take to help to close any emerging gaps in a child's development.

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who attend

Throughout the nursery staff have a secure understanding of the seven areas of learning they must take account of when planning for children's learning. Alongside this they clearly understand how children learn. With the support of the manager and room leaders they use their strong teaching skills to provide interesting learning environments both indoors and outdoors. Staff use what they learn on training courses effectively to develop their practice and the environment. Recently a mud kitchen, which is very popular with children, has been introduced to the outdoor play area as a result of staff attending training. Children spend time digging, mixing and stirring, all valuable physical skills which support children's early writing skills. Nursery rooms are organised in such a way that children can freely access a very good range of activities and equipment because the staff know what interests and engages children at the different stages of their development.

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who attend

Babies are attracted to treasure baskets and spend time independently exploring their contents happily with staff intervening when babies begin to lose interest.

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who attend

Children spend time engrossed in activities. Babies, with the support of skilled adults, played with sparkly, bubbly water. Staff modelled pouring and splashing which the children copied, repeating the actions frequently with much delight at their developing control and skill. Staff also adeptly took advantage of this activity to model language, responding to children's interest in the water. They talked to the children responding to their excited vocal expressions to repeat simple key words, such as ‘splash’, so that children could listen and attempt to say the words themselves.

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who attend

Older children are being prepared for the next stages in their learning and ultimately life at school in a well-planned way. Two- and three-year-old children are sensitively being introduced to routines, which they understand and respond to very well. Led by a very skilled member of staff these young children actively participated in a pre-lunch, small group 'circle time' using a 'chatterbox' filled with items linked to their latest interests in transport. They patiently waited for their turn to choose from the 'chatterbox', then confidently talked about their item prompted by the staff member skilfully using questions to challenge their thinking. When children began to lose interest, the activity was changed so that their interest was reignited and they were able to succeed in completing 'circle time' positively.

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who attend

Activity planning is very responsive to children's interests and closely matched to children's learning and developmental needs. While staff have a long term overview of themes they will cover annually, the actual weekly and daily planning is taken from what children have been interested in and practising the previous week. Older children, for example, had been showing a keen interest in the medical role play equipment. Staff responded to this interest by expanding the range of equipment available to them, sourcing story and factual books and placing them prominently in the nursery room. Again the 'chatterbox' was used with children to very good effect and with additional challenge to reflect their more developed language skills. Staff asked the children to feel and describe an item in the box before pulling it out of the box. Children waited, listened and volunteered to have a go with the 'chatterbox' keen to use their newly-acquired knowledge of medical words,

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who attend

such as ‘infection’ and ‘bandage’ in their descriptions of items. Staff seize opportunities to use children's own experiences. A wonderful activity using the outline of a child produced a large image with bandages and plasters stuck on 'wounds', chicken pox spots and annotations, written by staff, of what the children had said about why the child was not feeling well.

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who attend

Children's assessment records show that they are making good progress towards the early learning goals and are working well within the age related expectations. Adults work closely with each other so that they have a secure knowledge of what each child's developmental needs are and how they can best support the child. Parents receive detailed daily feedback verbally which regularly includes advice about how they can support their child's learning. The nursery has been innovative in its approach to helping parents to become involved in their children's learning. Regular themed 'stay and play' sessions are offered to parents giving them the opportunity to see how staff teach their children. In addition, parents freely access and contribute to their child's assessment file and are appropriately involved in the development of individual plans where there are concerns about a child's progress.

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

Children of all ages are settled and confident in the nursery. Much work is done in the nursery to help children and parents to become familiar with the nursery when they first start, when they are moving to another room or moving on to school. Staff have been very creative in their approach to this. Books about Rabbit's day in the baby room and the toddler and pre-school room are loaned to children so that they can see what the staff look like, what the room looks like and they can talk about what they will be doing. In addition, each member of staff has put together an interest box about themselves with photographs of them and their families and information about their hobbies and interests. Children love to borrow the boxes, not just for their key person but for other staff too, and take them home to look through with their parents. This helps to build extremely strong relationships between children and staff and contributes fully towards children’s emotional

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

attachments and feelings of belonging within the nursery.

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

Children quickly build familiar and trusting relationships with their key person and new children are supported sensitively to become familiar with nursery routines and expectations. Children who have recently started at the nursery were seen to move around and explore the activities with confidence, discovering what is on offer at their own pace. They are secure enough to make their needs and feelings known to staff, who respond with care and understanding, explaining clearly what is happening and, if necessary, why the child may need to wait for something.

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

Staff are very good role models who treat the children, and each other, with respect. At mealtimes staff sit at tables with the children and babies. This means all children have an enjoyable social experience with positive adult role models. As children get older they are given greater responsibility and become more involved within nursery routines, acting as snack monitors and pouring their own drinks. This gives children growing confidence and independence in looking after themselves and helping others and offers good preparation for moving on to school.

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

Staff, including students, are acutely aware of their responsibility for the safety and well- being of the children. All staff have an acceptable understanding of the safeguarding procedures at the nursery, but some are more confident than others. Children are, therefore, cared for in a safe and secure environment. Outdoors, children play with mud, sand and on grass; they climb, run, and crawl around in an environment that is constantly being reviewed and developed. Indoors, careful thought is given to how space is managed and how staff are deployed so that children can play and learn independently when they want to while still being supervised by staff. Where risks are identified these are managed well and from babies upwards, children develop an understanding of where they can play and what might harm them.

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provision

The safety and well-being of children is a high priority at the nursery. The manager has a very good understanding of her role and responsibilities to ensure that all staff are suitable to work with the children. She is clear about what she would do if a parent or colleague raised concerns about a staff member. The nursery sets out clear expectations to staff and parents about their behaviour and on issues such as the use of cameras and mobile telephones. Comprehensive policies, and the daily operation of the nursery, demonstrate that the manager has a secure knowledge and understanding of all of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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provision

Room leaders and the manager have a good overview of what is planned and delivered in the nursery rooms. They review staff planning and observe staff practice as a matter of routine. Information from these activities is used in staff one-to-one meetings as a tool to identify where staff need extra support to improve and develop their practice. Individual action plans with relevant training and support are devised and used where any development is identified. However, one-to-one sessions are not used as fully as they should be to enable staff to discuss their key children as a matter of course. This is because the format of the one-to-one agenda focuses on the completion of files rather than the monitoring and review of children's progress. While children's files are randomly selected for review and children's progress can be seen in them, the manager and room leaders have identified that they need a more systematic approach to monitoring

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provision

children's progress. They have devised a tracking system which is being introduced to give them a clear picture of each child. This will allow for easier identification of any delay in a child's development and enable swifter action to be put in place to support the child. In addition, while the report produced as a result of a child's two-year-old progress check gives a good summary of their development, the actions the nursery proposes taking to support any potential developmental delay are too brief, even as a starting point.

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provision

The children undoubtedly benefit from being cared for by a very well-qualified staff team. A good proportion of the staff have taken the opportunity to study for foundation and full degrees, alongside being given the opportunity to access training offered by the local authority and organisations for childcare professionals. They use their learning to make positive changes to the nursery environment and to improve their own and colleagues' practice. The manager and room leaders take time to reflect on what they observe and what they are told about the nursery by staff and parents and what they find out from children. A result of some of this reflection was a recognition that staff with a lead responsibility, for example in mathematics or communication and language, would benefit from support. Audits of the nursery's provision in these areas have brought about successful and highly effective changes and the 'chatterboxes' are a direct positive

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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 321475 Local authority York Inspection number 972588 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 36 Number of children on roll 68 Name of provider York Childcare Limited Date of previous inspection 18/02/2010 Telephone number 01904 780277

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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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