Kirkland Day Nursery

Kirkland Day Nursery Kirkland, Coxs Hill, Ashton Keynes, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN6 6NY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/05/2014 07/04/2010

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 Children are happy, well cared for, confident and gaining in independence.  Children behave well, and have a good relationship with all staff and each other.  Good liaison occurs with local feeder schools and effective systems for transition are in place.  There is a strong parent partnership, with good liaison between the setting and home.  The setting is inclusive and works hard to enable children to participate in all activities.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Although most of the time staff effectively promote children's language development by providing a running commentary, occasionally some opportunities are missed for the youngest children.  Sensory and creative experiences are not always readily available for all children during child-initiated play indoors.

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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 spent most of the time observing practice in the nursery rooms and the outside area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to staff and parents in the nursery, and took account of parents' views.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of practitioners working within the setting, the provider's improvement plan and a range of other documentation.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager.

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Information about the setting

Kirkland Nursery opened in 1990. It operates from three rooms in a detached house, on the outskirts of Ashton Keynes. The nursery has a large outdoor play area consisting of grassy areas and hard surfaces, both at the front and the rear of the property. The nursery serves the local school catchment area. It is registered on the Early Years Register and both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is registered to care for children from birth to eight years old and receives funding for three- and four-year-old children. There are currently 24 children on roll who are in the early years age group. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and /or disabilities. It opens five days a week, all the year round. Sessions are from 7.30am to 6pm. Children attend a variety of sessions. Six staff work with the children; of these, five have appropriate early years qualifications and the manager is a qualified teacher who has

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

 take all opportunities to extend children's language development and vocabulary in a variety of ways, particularly for the youngest children

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

 provide younger children with easy access to sensory and creative experiences during child-initiated play.

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who attend

Children are happy, confident and settled in the nursery, and are making good progress in all aspects of their learning and development. Regular assessments enable staff to plan activities to meet the needs of the children across all seven areas of learning. Staff provide a variety of activities, which are differentiated according to the needs of the children and follow their interests. Good relationships with parents and regular information sharing enable staff to act on interests quickly, to make the most of learning opportunities. Younger children are able to learn from older ones, due to periods of time spent together in the main nursery room and the outside areas. Key persons have a good understanding about the use of on-going, observational assessment, and the nursery uses the progress checks for two-year-old children as an opportunity to involve parents in assessment. Staff effectively evaluate children's play to incorporate what children need to learn next into

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who attend

their planning. Assessments take place regularly, so that progress can be checked against the children's starting points. The nursery is small, with established staff who all know the children well. Children flourish in the nursery because the key person arrangements and staff knowledge of the children are good. Adults are highly skilled and sensitive in helping children develop secure emotional attachments. As a result, children form very positive relationships with adults and each other in this warm and welcoming nursery. Staff liaise closely with parents on a daily basis, through informal chats and sharing of general information. Parents know the key person well. They make comments on how well staff care for their children and how much they trust them; for example they say "it's a home from home" and "it's like leaving them with family". Staff also help parents to understand the curriculum by providing

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who attend

information in newsletters and discussing how they can help their child learn new skills. For example one parent was pleased to be given support with her child's pencil skills.

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who attend

Children are developing their early literacy and writing skills as they use paint and chalk to make marks outdoors, and pencils and markers to draw and write indoors. Some children are able to sound out and write simple words with minimal support; others are starting to recognise letters and their sounds, and are beginning to make connections with reading and writing.

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who attend

Children enjoy being independent and staff support this by allowing them opportunities to try things out, supporting them if it is needed. For example, a toddler is encouraged to climb the stairs with minimal support, rather than being carried. Children persevere and concentrate well, so they make good progress in their learning. Staff have high expectations of all children, and this is demonstrated in the calm atmosphere and the sustained levels of interest and enjoyment children show when playing and exploring. Children's personal, social and emotional development is fostered extremely well. Children make good progress in communication and language skills, which is evident in the confident way they talk to adults. However, occasionally, opportunities are missed to further extend and model language for the youngest children during free play activities.

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who attend

All the children go out to play on a daily basis and they can freely access outdoors from the downstairs rooms, ensuring they have access to plenty of fresh air. Children have good opportunities to balance, climb, run, jump, throw and catch. They ride scooters and a variety of bikes, which promotes their physical development very effectively. Exploratory learning takes place outdoors, with children using magnifying glasses when hunting for mini beasts. Staff make effective use of water and sand play activities, as well as painting by squirting and rolling paint on large pieces of cardboard, to develop children's coordination and manipulative skills.

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who attend

Sensory activities take place regularly but the younger children do not always have as many opportunities to be able to access activities such as water, sand and paint during their free play time indoors. Older children have more opportunities to access resources indoors and the mixed-age sessions allow some opportunities for younger children to have indoor sensory experiences.

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who attend

Children are very well prepared for the next stage in their development, whether this is moving rooms or moving on to a different setting or school. They show that they are ready for school as they are confident in new situations and have the skills they need to ensure a smooth transition.

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

Children are happy and content within the nursery and have formed secure attachments to the staff. Staff support children to gain independence according to each child's needs. Very young children enjoy exploring resources but know to return to staff for comfort if they are feeling unsure about a situation or person; this knowledge effectively supports their well-being.

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

Practitioners are good role models and provide clear guidance for behaviour, resulting in a lovely, calm atmosphere. Children respect each other and adults, and are polite, considerate and helpful to others. Mixed-age groups allow siblings to be together for some parts of the day and allow all the children to respect each other's differences. This also introduces challenge for all children as a good variety of activities are available and are not specifically dependant on age. Children are supported in having a 'can do' attitude and are able to try activities that may be considered too challenging for their age, for example riding bikes without stabilisers. Children with specific needs are particularly well supported, with adaptations being made to equipment to enable them to be included in all activities. For example a small platform was added to one of the outside cars, to enable one child with particular needs to be pushed along without hurting his legs.

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

Children's welfare is actively promoted through very effective safety arrangements. Children's behaviour shows that they feel safe and secure in the setting. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding issues and training is comprehensive. Children regularly take part in fire evacuation practices, and staff discuss road safety with parents and children.

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

Links made with other providers are good; the nursery has close links with the local schools and pre-school, and this includes visits from reception teachers. Children are well prepared emotionally, as well as intellectually, for the transition into school, and parents are reassured by this preparation. External visits help children gain confidence in experiencing new situations; for example a theatre trip gave children confidence to speak out in a group in an unfamiliar situation. Help from external professionals has enabled staff to provide support for children with particular needs. For example, Makaton sign language training has supported staff to communicate effectively with all children, and a visual timetable has helped children to understand routines.

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

Adults organise themselves well, so a member of staff is always on hand to support children's care needs, including nappy changing and toileting, as well as hand washing and changing after messy play. Staff ensure that children gain a good understanding about the reasons for personal hygiene. Children thoroughly enjoy cookery sessions and eat well and healthily, as the nursery provides a varied menu.

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provision

The provider and manager demonstrate a good understanding of their responsibility to meet the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff are deployed effectively, and the legal ratios are maintained and often exceeded. Staff are aware of the whistle-blowing policy, should they have any concerns regarding their colleagues. They have a very secure awareness of local safeguarding children procedures, and work effectively to detailed policies. Through documented induction and on-going training, staff are familiar with possible signs of children at risk and with procedures to follow if they have concerns. The premises are organised in ways that meets the needs of children, who have ample indoor play space and access to two safe outdoor areas. The external gates are locked for the majority of the time and when open, have a warning system when a car enters the premises. All fences and gates are secure and staff report that they review

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provision

procedures regularly, to ensure the high standards are maintained. Action plans are put in place should any concerns be noted and these are dealt with promptly as part of the focused improvement plan and self-evaluation process.

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provision

The provider uses effective systems for appraisal and on-going professional development. Supervision meetings take place regularly for all staff, as well as annual appraisals. This approach supports children's well-being effectively. Mentoring takes place to enable newer staff to learn and develop their skills quickly and effectively. Regular staff meetings include time to reflect and review practice and procedures currently in place, to ensure that changes happen when they are needed. The setting has a focused improvement plan, in order to track changes and to ensure self-evaluation is effective.

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provision

The provider, manager and staff have a good understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They provide a balanced curriculum with a variety of activities, which children can be seen to be enjoying in the many photographs and activities. Staff monitor children's progress carefully to identify any gaps in their learning, and interventions are put in place if they are needed. They have good links with other settings to make effective partnerships, and have systems in place should shared care occur with any of the children attending the nursery and another setting. Partnership working with parents and carers is very effective, and supports children's learning and development well. Families hugely appreciate the friendly, approachable staff and the planned family activities in summer and winter.

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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 199374 Local authority Wiltshire Inspection number 826110 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 28 Number of children on roll 24 Name of provider Frances Walmsley Date of previous inspection 07/04/2010 Telephone number 01285 862060

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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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