Playtime Nursery - Staines

Playtime Nursery Staines THE THAMES CLUB, Wheatsheaf Lane, Staines Upon Thames, TW18 2PD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25/04/2014 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

 The learning environment supports children's independence as they can freely access a wide range of good quality resources.  Children enjoy taking part in activities, which develop their understanding of the world, such as growing vegetables and examining the creatures they find in the garden.  Staff build good partnerships with parents which supports the consistent care of children.  The nursery is well organised with well-established procedures, which underpin the welfare of children.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The manager does not yet carry out formal peer observations of staff's work, which affects her ability to fully support staff's skills.  Staff are sometimes inconsistent in supporting children's independence, and some writing activities lack purpose.

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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 children at play indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined a range of documentation, including children's records and safeguarding policies.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector and manage discussed how activities they had observed were evaluated.  The inspector gathered the views of parents.

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Information about the setting

Playtime Nursery reregistered in 2013 and operates from three rooms in a private health club in Staines upon Thames, Surrey. It is privately owned and there is another nursery in the local area owned by the same provider. Children are cared for in age-appropriate rooms and there is a secure outdoor area. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and has 30 children on roll. It is open each weekday from 7.30am until 6pm for 51 weeks of the year. The nursery supports children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery receives funding for free early education for children aged two, three and four years. A team of five staff work with the children, three of whom are qualified in early years and two are in training.

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

 carry out regular peer observations to support staff in their professional development

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

 encourage further children's independent skills such as arranging their own resources

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

 make writing activities more purposeful in order to give children challenge and interest.

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who attend

Staff have a good understanding of how to meet the learning and development requirements. They provide a broad range of interesting and engaging activities, which cover all seven areas of learning. Staff have a good understanding of how to promote child-initiated play and follow their interests, facilitating them in making decisions about what to do. This means that children are engaged in purposeful play; develop their curiosity and an enjoyment of learning. As a result, they make good progress.

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who attend

Staff are alongside children as they play and are skilled at developing conversations with children. For example, staff ask open questions about what children want to paint and how the brush tickles when painting hands for hand prints. This means that children are thinking and giving their ideas as they play, and talking about how they experience the activity. As a result, children are confident communicators and develop a good vocabulary. Staff are skilled at bringing out mathematical learning in play. For example, when children play with construction bricks, staff encourage children to count how many bricks they are sing. Staff also use a great deal of comparative language and comments, to encourage children in judging if something is big enough, and how to make it taller. Children enjoy good opportunities for being independent, active learners, because they can easily reach all the play equipment, and because staff support child-initiated play. For example, when

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who attend

children ask about the bugs, staff lift the logs in the garden so that children can inspect what is living underneath. Staff also support children's choices, asking them what colour paper they would like, or what they would like to do next. However, sometimes staff take over when preparing activities, such as getting the paint pots when children could do this for themselves. This means that support for children's independence is sometimes variable. Children enjoy a wide range of early writing activities inside and outdoors. They use chalk, paint, sand and salt, making marks with their fingers, or creating patterns with toy car wheel prints. However, some writing activities lack purpose, and staff ask children to spend time trying to copy letters and words rather than write in a meaningful context. This means that children are somewhat uninterested in the activity. Children have good opportunities to gain an understanding of the wider world. They take care of plants and

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who attend

pets such as fish, learning how to nurture them as well as examining the bugs and snails that live in the garden. Children are careful not to harm snails when they remove them from their vegetable patch and find them a new home.

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who attend

Staff meet with parents as children start in the nursery to establish their starting points in learning. Staff then make careful observations of the children as they settle, learning about their interests and learning styles. This contributes to the initial review that staff write when children have settled in, and staff shape children's next steps and learning goals, incorporating them into future planning. Staff write further reviews every term and meet with parents to discuss children's progress. Staff also track children's learning against published guidance on expected levels of development. This helps them to identify any achievement gaps and plan to address them. Parents contribute to the reviews and add their comments about learning at home. The reviews that staff write, form the basis of the progress check at age two, and the review that is forwarded to the school when children leave the nursery. The reviews and tracking show that children are making good

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who attend

progress given their starting points and capabilities.

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

Staff have organised an effective key person system centred on the child's individual needs. Staff support parents to settle the children at their own pace and discuss any issues for children who may have difficulty separating. Staff are attentive to children's moods and give lots of cuddles to children who appear upset. Parents say that they appreciate being sent photographs via email of their child settled in play and this thoughtful, timely feedback is very reassuring. Staff display numerous photographs of the children as part of the visual timetable, and children have space for their own belongings in the nursery. This helps them to develop a strong sense of belonging, and they are settled and secure as a result. Staff have created a good learning environment. The rooms are set up as base rooms for different ages, but are all connected so children can explore and choose where to play for themselves. This is a key feature in helping children to

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

transfer between base rooms very smoothly, as they are already familiar with the staff and layout. Resources are of good quality and arranged so that children can easily reach what they need. Children can also easily visit the bathrooms and coat peg, which helps them to take care of their personal needs independently. The outdoor area is also a good learning environment. Mature trees create a shaded area with natural features for children to explore. Staff have created areas for the whole curriculum to be included so that children have writing opportunities, for example, as they play outside.

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

Children have good opportunities to learn about healthy lifestyles. They play in the fresh air every day and understand when they need coats and wellies to keep warm and dry. Children have a healthy, balanced diet with food prepared at the sister nursery. Snacks are also healthy and children help make the decisions about when to have snack time, helping them to tune in to their own needs. Children enjoy seeing the seeds they have planted grow, and understand where food comes from. Children adopt good hygiene and self-care habits. They spontaneously go to wash their hands after messy play and before eating. Staff follow well-established routines in order to keep all areas of the nursery clean for children. These measures help to minimise the risk of cross-infection. Children have good opportunities to enhance their physical development. Children balance along paths and obstacle courses and carry their toys and play equipment when tidying up. Children

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

dig in the garden and enjoy a wide range of play which supports their small muscle skills. Children learn how to handle different equipment safely, such as garden tools, scissors and cutlery.

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

Children behave well. They are well-engaged in play and have a wide range of resources which they are happy to share. Children use timers to support their turn-taking, and they cooperate well in play. For example, they play together in imaginative play such as pretending to go shopping. Children are happy to take responsibility for routines such as tidying up when they have finished playing. They are confident to share their ideas in small groups and express their feelings. Children build strong friendships and older children like to help the younger ones. Staff manage children's behaviour using positive methods, which help children to know what is expected of them and have good self- esteem. This means that overall; children acquire good skills for their future learning.

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provision

Leaders and managers have a good understanding of how to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements. All staff are checked as to their suitability and no unchecked staff have unsupervised contact with children. Policies and procedures are clear and robust, giving staff strong guidance on how to report any concerns they may have about the welfare of a child. Staff are familiar with the policies and understand that the welfare of the children is paramount. Parents are given information about child protection procedures so they understand staff's duties and responsibility. Staff-child ratios are accurately maintained and children enjoy good supervision. Staff carry out daily checks based on the risk assessments. This maintains a high level of safety. Documentation and record keeping is well-organised which underpins children's well-being.

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provision

The manager oversees the planning and assessments that staff carry out, encouraging staff to evaluate and reflect on their practice. The manager moderates how staff judge children's progress to make sure that staff are accurately tracking children's achievements in learning. The manager regularly works alongside staff in the playrooms, which means that she has a good understanding of their strengths and areas for improvement. Supervision meetings enable the manager to work with staff to identify training needs. However, the manager does not carry out formal peer observations of staff practice, in order to analyse their skills and assess strengths and areas for improvement. The manager works with senior managers from the sister setting to share best practice. This supports the knowledge, understanding and practice of all staff. Staff attend a wide range of training events to develop their qualifications and value the support. The manager has

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provision

worked with staff to identify long term goals as part of the self-evaluation process.

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provision

Parents receive a wide range of information from staff about their child's day. Parents comment on the quality of the feedback from the child's key person and are confident that the key person knows their child well. Parents appreciate the emails that staff send, keeping them informed of how their child is doing, or events at the nursery. They also greatly value the support staff give on issues such as potty training and supporting the development of English as an additional language. Parents receive a newsletter and attend regular parents' evenings. This all helps to support the consistent care of children. The manager has established working relationships with staff in the local authority. This supports the work of the nursery in addressing any additional needs children may have. The manager demonstrates a good understanding of how to work in partnership with local schools in order to support children's move to school.

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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 EY470941 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 939214 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 44 Number of children on roll 30 Name of provider St Charles Limited Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01784457514

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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

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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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