Northover House Day Nursery

Northover House Day Nursery and Pre-School 3 Northover House, Northover, Ilchester, Yeovil, Somerset, BA22 8NG

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 15/05/2014 22/11/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 3 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 enjoy a wide range of activities and experiences that effectively challenge and support them to make good progress in all areas of their learning.  Partnership with parents is strong. Good communication and sharing of information effectively contributes to meeting children's individual needs.  Children build warm and secure relationships with the staff. This supports their emotional and physical well-being and helps children to build secure attachments.  The well-qualified and experienced staff team use self-evaluation effectively to identify strengths and drive improvement.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is not always a cosy area provided in the pre-school room where children and adults can share books and stories together.  Staff do not always use mealtimes to help children develop independence skills fully.

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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 playing inside and outdoors.  The inspector observed the quality of interaction between the staff and children.  The inspector spoke with staff, parents and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including children's records, risk assessments and self-evaluation.  The inspector invited the owner/manager to complete a joint observation.

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Information about the setting

Northover House Day Nursery and Pre-school registered in 2005. It operates from the ground floor of a large house in the town of Ilchester, Somerset. The deputy manager lives on the first floor of the house. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and there are currently 34 children on roll. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early years education to children aged two, three and four years of age. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is open from 7.45am to 5.45pm, Monday to Friday all year round. The owner/manager has an early years degree and holds Early Years Professional Status. Her deputy has an early years degree. One member of staff holds a level 4 qualification and four members of staff hold level 3 qualifications. One member of staff is unqualified.

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

 enhance children's enjoyment of literature by providing a cosy area in the pre- school room where children can share stories and books with their friends

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

 consistently encourage children's independence at meal times.

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who attend

Staff have a secure understanding of how children develop and learn. They know the children well and use this knowledge effectively to provide a good range of activities and experiences that challenge and excite them. This means that children are supported to make good progress in all areas. Consequently, they are well prepared for their eventual move to school. Children are curious and inquisitive learners. They excitedly explore the outside area, looking for spiders and bugs in the garden. On finding a family of woodlice, they talk about and compare the different sizes. They choose which one is the 'mummy' and which one the baby. They take it in turns to carefully hold them and use words such as 'tickly', to describe how it feels as the woodlouse crawls over their hands. Staff make the most of spontaneous opportunities to introduce new words to the children's vocabulary, such as 'antennae' as they engage them in conversation about the features of

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who attend

the woodlouse. This promotes children's communication and language skills and increases their knowledge and understanding of the world.

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who attend

Staff provide children with a variety of opportunities to use their imaginations. They play in the large fire engine outside, pretending to travel to different places to put out fires. They use the window of the outside playhouse as a hatch and pretend to sell ice cream. Children organise their own games successfully. They take it in turns to be the wolf as the other children count the number of steps they take forward. They manage their own behaviour well by using language to explain why they are not happy or feel sad. As a result, there are very few occasions when the staff need to intervene. This encourages children's personal, social and emotional development effectively, as they learn key skills in how to make relationships and manage their own behaviour well.

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who attend

Staff encourage children to help to plant flowers, fruit and vegetables in the garden. Staff teach the children about the importance of water and sunlight to help them grow as they learn how to look after the plants. Children thoroughly enjoy looking at books and listening to stories. They listen well and take part in discussion about what words such as 'honest' mean. In the baby room, books are stored in baskets on the floor and on low- level shelving. Babies access books freely for themselves and sit with staff on the cushions to share the books. Although, in the pre-school room there is usually a cosy area for children to sit and share books with their friends, on the day of inspection this was not available.

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who attend

Babies and younger children enjoy spacious and welcoming rooms to move around in safely and explore. They also have daily access to the outdoor play environment, which helps them to develop their social skills as they mix with older children. Babies explore with investigative objects, pressing buttons, shaking rattles and moving objects in and out of boxes. They thoroughly enjoy lots of warm interaction and cuddles with staff who support their early development of words by responding to the sounds and noises they make. Personal routines are discussed with parents and supported effectively by staff such as nappy changing and sleep routines.

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

Children's physical and emotional well-being is effectively supported because the staff build warm and trusting relationships with them. Children are extremely confident and happy at the nursery. They freely select from resources and activities that interest and challenge them effectively. Children are given lots of praise and encouragement for their achievements, which boosts confidence and self-esteem. Babies share close relationships with their key person, who provides them with the confidence to explore the environment freely. Staff encourage the children to independently dress themselves for outside play. They 'have a go' at putting on their shoes and rubbing their sun protection lotion on for themselves. Children are aware of their own needs and use the toilets independently. However, staff do not extend all opportunities to develop children's independence skills. For example, although children pour their drinks for themselves at snack time, at lunch

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

Children have good opportunities to develop their physical skills and benefit from fresh air and exercise on a daily basis. They use climbing equipment in the garden and enjoy using the slide. There are also opportunities for them to develop their physical skills in the soft play room. Children thoroughly enjoy the variety of healthy, nutritious home-cooked meals provided by the nursery. Mealtimes are very sociable occasions where there is good interaction from staff which helps children to develop their communication skills effectively. Staff teach the children about the importance of following robust hygiene practices. They give children gentle reminders about the importance of washing their hands before eating and after using the bathroom. This helps to promote children's understanding of the importance of a healthy lifestyle and helps to prevent the spread of infection. The premises are clean and well maintained.

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

Staff teach the children how to manage everyday risks and keep themselves safe. Staff talk to the children about the importance of keeping the environment tidy, so that children do not trip or fall over toys and resources. They learn how to leave the premises quickly and safely in the event of an emergency, through the regular practice of the fire drill.

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provision

The management and staff team have a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Thorough risk assessments are completed on a daily basis to ensure that the environment is safe and secure for the children. Staff have a good understanding of child protection issues and safeguarding is given the highest priority. Staff are clear on the signs or symptoms that could be a possible cause for concern. They are secure in their knowledge of the reporting procedures to follow. There are thorough recruitment, vetting and induction procedures in place to enable suitable staff to work directly with the children. Staff are supported through yearly appraisals and ongoing discussion regarding practice and any training needs for professional development. The manager monitors the quality of the staff's teaching through regular observation of practice. This helps to ensure the ongoing

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provision

Strong partnerships have been established with parents. Parents' views are actively sought through questionnaires. Management provide additional information when requested. For example, the manager developed some booklets on numbers and letters to help the parents support children's learning at home. Parents comment on the friendliness of the management and staff and of the good the support their children receive. Parents say that the nursery prepares their children well for school. They comment that their children have grown in confidence since attending the nursery and are happy with the progress their children make. Staff work closely with parents to ensure that any additional need children may have is understood, so that appropriate support is put in place. Good communication between the staff team and parents means that children's needs are consistently met and that parents feel valued and involved in their child's learning. There are effective systems

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provision

in place to share information with other providers when care and education are shared. There is strong partnership working with other professionals, such as physiotherapists and speech and language. This contributes effectively to the improving outcomes for children and supports consistency in care and learning.

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provision

The management and staff have a good knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements and the educational programme provides a broad base of activities covering all areas. Systems to track children's progress are effective and enable staff to identify any gaps in learning and plan for children's next steps successfully. The management and staff regularly reflect on their practise and make good use of self- evaluation tools in order to identify the nursery's strengths and areas for development. This includes addressing all of the recommendations raised at the previous inspection. This demonstrates a good capacity to maintain continuous improvement.

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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 EY307860 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 972736 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 34 Name of provider Northover House Day Nursery Partnership Date of previous inspection 22/11/2012 Telephone number 01935 840244

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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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