The Old School House Nursery School

The Old School House Nursery School Benty Lane, SHEFFIELD, South Yorkshire, S10 5NF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 23/04/2014 19/10/2012

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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

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This provision is outstanding

 Teaching is outstanding and staff are highly knowledgeable about the Early Years Foundation Stage. This results in them planning and providing an extensive range of activities that focus on children's individual needs, interests and their next steps. This has a positive impact on children's high levels of achievement and the excellent progress they are making in their learning and development.  Rigorous recruitment procedures and highly effective monitoring of staff practice ensures children are cared for by suitable adults who safeguard children effectively and demonstrate exceptional enthusiasm and passion for their role.  Children are highly confident and are actively engaged in routines of the day, enhancing their confidence and independence in all aspects of their development. Babies and children have very strong attachments to all staff and this ensures they feel safe and secure in their environment.

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This provision is outstanding

 Staff have excellent partnerships with parents. They share children's progress on a regular basis and discuss ideas on how parents can effectively contribute and enhance their children's learning at home.

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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 a range of activities in all areas of the setting.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with staff about the care and learning of children and carried out a joint observation with staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a selection of documentation which included the recruitment process, records of vetting checks and qualifications of staff, accident records, risk assessments, children's development records and the safeguarding policy.

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Information about the setting

The Old School House Nursery School was registered in 1990 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from two converted buildings in the Crosspool area of Sheffield. The setting is one of two settings owned by Old School House Nursery Limited. The setting serves the local and wider community and is accessible to all children. There are enclosed outdoor areas available for outside play. The nursery employs 37 members of childcare staff. Of these, 27 hold early years qualifications at level 3, seven at level 2 and two hold Qualified Teacher Status and Early Years Professional status. The setting opens Monday to Friday for 51 weeks of the year. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6.30pm and children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 223 children attending; of these, 165 are in the early years age group. The setting provides funded early education for two-, three- and

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Information about the setting

four-year-old children. There is an after school and holiday provision for children over five years. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and is a member of the National Day Nurseries Association. They have achieved Investors in People accreditation and the nursery is a Council for Awards in Care, Health and Education approved training centre.

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

 consider ways of how to further enhance the highly effective transition systems that are already in place, by enabling key persons to meet and discuss children's development in more detail to make their transition an even more seamless experience and ensure there is total continuity in their learning.

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who attend

Staff throughout the setting have an excellent and secure understanding of the learning and development requirements. They provide an extensive, rich and varied range of resources and experiences that cover all the educational programmes and that fully support children to make rapid progress in their learning. Regular observations on the children and precise assessments mean that staff have a very good awareness of children's individual learning needs. The information gained from these observations and assessments enables staff to identify if children need early intervention and they ensure any support required is quickly put in place. The staff have an excellent understanding of how young children learn and because of this, children demonstrate the characteristics of effective learning. For example, staff fully engage in children's play, encourage children to make independent choices, effectively praise their achievements and use open-ended

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who attend

questions to fully promote children's thinking. Staff encourage children to make predications and to solve problems for themselves. This approach results in children being active learners, motivated and eager to learn.

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who attend

Other professionals are regular visitors to the setting and engage the children in a range of extended activities, such as tennis coaching and French lessons. Staff enhance the well- resourced provision as they plan further activities around themes, topics and celebrations, such as St George's Day and Bastille Day. Babies and children throughout the setting actively engage in interactions with staff and their peers. Babies particularly enjoy the musical toys, exploring treasure baskets and looking at books with staff, who are extremely attentive and caring to their individual needs. Staff engage the toddlers and older children in a wide range of social situations and effectively promote children's communication and language development. Older children confidently hold conversations with adults and younger children are inquisitive and ask lots of questions. Activities using dry cereals, shaving foam and lentils encourage lots of mark-making opportunities for the

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who attend

toddlers. In role play, the older children are able to practise their writing skills as they make lists and are encouraged to write their own names, enabling them to practise the skills they need to support their literacy development. Activities, such as a fishing game, jigsaws and sand and water play, are readily available and fully support children in the development of their mathematical skills as they learn about 'one more', 'one less', 'big', 'small', 'solving problems', 'comparison' and 'matching'.

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who attend

Children's physical development is fully supported as they squeeze, prod and manipulate different objects and medias. Children enjoy taking part in physical activities. For example, babies have the space and freedom to roll and crawl. When playing outdoors, the toddlers and older children enjoy being energetic as they run, ride in the tricycles, dig, play with the hoops and kick, throw and bat balls, which supports them in developing control and coordination. Throughout the setting, a range of posters and pictures that celebrate different cultural events, welcome messages in different languages and through inviting different people into the setting, staff are very proactive in fostering children's development in their understanding of the world extremely well. Children learn about how things work and simple science through a wide range of experiences. For example, babies access resources with flaps, buttons and knobs and older children enjoy cooking and

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who attend

baking activities on a regular basis. Children also have access to information technology equipment, which includes a smart board and computers for the older children. Through a wide variety of role-play experiences the toddlers use their imagination as they initiate familiar routines, such as feeding and bathing a baby, as they play with the dollies.

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who attend

Staff gather detailed and relevant information from parents when the babies and children start at the setting. They do this through discussions, settling-in visits and through written information. This means they have an excellent understanding of children's likes, needs and daily routines. Staff effectively provide routines in the setting that babies and children are familiar with at home, such as sleep and meal times and this promotes continuity of their care. In addition, children are able to bring any comfort items from home, such as their favourite toys. This, along with an effective key person system, contributes to the excellent relationships between the children and staff, enabling children to feel secure in the environment. Key persons complete regular written reports for parents about their child's progress, including the progress check at age two and through detailed policies, procedures and planning displayed around the setting they are kept very well informed

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who attend

about how the Early Years Foundation Stage is delivered. Through a number of successful strategies, such as encouraging parents to comment in their child's progress records, practitioners engage parents very well in sharing their child's learning at home. Consequently, children are extremely well prepared for the next stage in their learning and their eventual move to school.

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

A highly effective and robust key person system is in place. Babies and children throughout the setting display high levels of confidence in their environment, the staff caring for them and towards visitors. This shows they feel totally secure and have built firm, positive attachments with staff and strong friendships with their peers. When babies and children first start attending, the key person gathers all relevant information from parents and this enables them to make baseline assessments to establish their starting points. Having this valuable information from the outset enables staff to settle children into the setting and to quickly meet their individual needs. A fully inclusive ethos means that children from the local and surrounding areas are able to access the setting.

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

Transitions throughout the setting are well organised and completely shared and agreed with parents. Children make regular visits to the next room they will move on to. However, there is scope to further enhance how the information that is shared between key persons in the different areas ensures the 'new' key person is highly informed of children's needs, interests and especially their next steps. Transitions for children moving on to school are very well organised. The teacher within the pre-school room invites teachers from the various schools, where children will be moving on to, to visit and meet the children in the setting. This helps to build relationships with teaching staff and helps the children to feel secure before their move.

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

Children are provided with a wide, varied and healthy diet of balanced foods for snacks and meals. Meals are prepared and cooked at the sister setting and brought over in hygienic and heat retaining containers. Staff in the baby room prepare babies' bottles in accordance with parents' wishes and a range of pureed fruits are kept frozen and used for babies' snacks. Children with any special dietary needs and/or requirements are totally catered for with highly effective systems in place to ensure the safety of all foods cooked and served to children. For example, photographs of children are displayed in each room with clear instructions of their individual dietary needs and/or requirements, for all staff to clearly see. Toddlers and pre-school children know and follow very good hygiene procedures with regard to hand washing before eating. Children benefit from regular access to the outdoors, and through regular exercise they are developing high levels of

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

understanding of how to keep their bodies healthy. For example, before they participate in the soft tennis activity the children undertake a programme of warm-up exercises.

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

Safety within the setting is highly monitored. Children are unable to leave unattended and the secure entrance prevents people entering without the knowledge of staff. Regular emergency evacuation is practised with the children, ensuring they are familiar with the procedure and elevating their understanding of how to stay safe in an emergency. Children's health and well-being is further enhanced through all staff being qualified in first aid. Regular risk assessments of accidents and the environment mean that staff are able to quickly and effectively deal with any issues that may pose hazards to children, keeping them safe. Children are well supervised throughout the setting and daily registration of children and staff ensures ratios are constantly maintained in order to meet the requirements.

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provision

Robust recruitment procedures ensure children are cared for by suitable adults who are interviewed, vetted and qualified. They undertake regular training to update their knowledge and skills. A highly detailed induction is undertaken by all new staff and students. This includes them reading and signing the policies and procedures. A practical interview is also completed. This involves applicants attending the setting for a day to work in a room, under strict supervision, to enable management to assess their skills in how they interact with the children and staff and how they plan and provide an age- appropriate activity. A large number of staff have been employed at the setting for a number of years. Some staff started as apprentices and have subsequently been employed as staff, while others have moved on to other employment. All staff, including those on apprenticeships, have excellent knowledge and understanding of safeguarding and of their

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provision

roles and responsibilities around child protection. A detailed and comprehensive safeguarding policy and procedure is in place and staff are very clear on how to follow the procedures should they have any concerns either with children or any inappropriate behaviour they may see of other staff or adults.

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provision

Management and staff have excellent knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements. Staff performance is regularly observed and monitored by room leaders and management. Management also conduct monthly 'spot check' audits on children's development files to ensure key persons are tracking children's progress and identifying the next steps in their learning. This regular monitoring and evaluation of practice and performance means management are able to ensure the high levels of practice are consistent and that the planning of activities presents sufficient challenge to children. A housekeeper is also employed at the setting. This means staff are able to concentrate on providing high levels of care for children and are not therefore involved in the cleaning of the setting.

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provision

Excellent partnerships with parents and carers have been established. Staff exchange information with parents on a daily basis and through regular meetings with key persons, parents are kept fully informed of their children's progress. Parents speak very highly of the setting and consistently say they are impressed with the knowledge and skills of the staff and the quality of the care and education they provide for their children. They express how they enjoy taking their children's development records home to read and make comments on how they are provided with information on how they can further support their children's learning at home. Partnerships with external agencies and other professionals are superb. Regular visitors to the setting include a sports coach and a French teacher, who provide extra-curricular activities for the children in a dynamic and innovative way, making it exciting for them. The qualified Early Years Practitioner meets

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provision

with outside agencies, such as speech and language therapists and the inclusion team, on a regular basis to ensure appropriate support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is consistent and effective for their development. Partnerships with schools where children move on to are also highly effective to ensure children's transitions to school are smooth.

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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 300911 Local authority Sheffield Inspection number 966598

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 123 Number of children on roll 223 Name of provider Old School House Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 19/10/2012 Telephone number 0114 2666930

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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.

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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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