Yellow Wellies

Yellow Wellies Avenue House, North Road, DURHAM, DH1 4SG

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 06/06/2014 03/11/2008

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 The quality and consistency of teaching is exceptional as staff have an excellent knowledge of how children learn. This is supported by precise and accurate assessment and planning for individual children.  Children are exceptionally well cared for by highly competent key persons who form secure attachments with all children. The key person system works exceptionally well to encourage children to feel welcomed and valued. Key persons work very closely with parents and carers, particularly during transitions, to ensure continuity of care.  Children are extremely well motivated, independent and ready to engage in new learning experiences, as a result of staff's excellent practice and a carefully organised learning environment.  Leadership is inspirational, there are high expectations of staff, who have a strong drive to continuously improve. All staff embrace reflective practice and work closely together

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This provision is outstanding

to monitor and evaluate the setting.  Excellent relationships with parents are established. Detailed information is shared with parents, ensuring they are fully informed and involved in their child's learning.

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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 had a tour of the premises including the outdoor area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the, manager, staff and children at appropriate times throughout the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation including children's records, learning and development information, staff suitability checks and records, self-evaluation and a selection of policies and procedures.  The inspector took into account the views of parents through discussion.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Information about the setting

Yellow Wellies is one of three nurseries managed by a limited company. It originally opened in 2004 and has been registered in the current premises since 2008. The nursery operates from a two-storey building in the centre of Durham and provides both sessional and full day care for children from the local community and the wider surrounding areas. The entrance to the building has ramped access and children have use of an enclosed outdoor play area. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and English as an additional language. The setting is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is open from 7.30am to 6pm, each weekday throughout the year except for public holidays and the Christmas holiday period. A total of 19 members of staff are employed to work with the children. Of these, all hold appropriate early years

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Information about the setting

qualifications at level 3 or above, including one member of staff who holds Qualified Teacher status and three members of staff with Early Years Professional status. The setting receives support from the local authority and is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance. There are currently 102 children on roll, of which 87 are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four- year-old children.

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

 consider developing further ways to engage external partners in the transition process, so that there is a close collaboration that helps children to be even more better prepared for school.

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who attend

Staff are highly motivated and enthusiastic practitioners, who have an excellent knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff use their knowledge of how children learn to effectively support and promote their development through activities that excite and motivate the children to learn. Staff have robust assessment arrangements in place to accurately track the progress of each child and check that children make consistently high levels of achievement. The monitoring of children's progress through highly effective observations and assessments of their learning, ensures that the planning of activities are expertly tailored to the children's individual needs. Anecdotal observations of children's activities are frequently recorded and photographs are taken to support observations. Staff complete a range of assessments, including the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years, termly assessments, and learning journals. This

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who attend

information is analysed by the manager to carefully assess the levels of children's attainment. This is highly effective in highlighting any gaps in attainment and also enables staff to identify where children may need additional support. Staff then use this information to very effectively plan appropriate activities that challenge and interest children and support their future development. As a result, all children make excellent progress from their starting points. Children attending with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported with action plans developed to plan strategies of support, which includes the key person liaising with parents and other professionals to ensure individual needs are met. Children's understanding of diversity and difference is promoted as they celebrate festivals and special events from around the world. They access resources that reflect positive images of people from different cultures. This

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who attend

ensures that children learn to value aspects of their own lives and the diverse society in which they live.

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who attend

Staff demonstrate an excellent understanding regarding the different stages of development and how they can support children in the key areas of personal, social and emotional development, physical development and communication and language skills. This is because staff are highly knowledgeable and well trained and therefore, understand individual children's learning needs. They join in with activities, role modelling play. For example, staff sit with children and show them how to thread keys and open and close pegs, they then encourage the children to thread. Staff have high expectations of children and support their development by encouraging the children to always attempt new things so that the children develop a 'can do' approach. This means that children become active learners who are keen to keep trying and are motivated to learn. Staff in the baby room sit with children and look at books, identifying the animals and making the 'huffing' and

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who attend

'puffing' noises in a story about three little pigs. Children sit and listen eagerly as staff recall the story animatedly. Staff are highly intuitive to the needs of the children in their care and follow the child's lead. Their enthusiasm inspires the children and so they get the most out of their learning. For example, while children sing about a twinkling star staff use voile to replicate the stars in the sky and hold this above the children's head. Children are enthralled, enthused and excited as they lie on the floor, under the pretend stars, joining in with the words to the song. Children within the pre-school room enjoy taking part in outdoor play. They water plants in the allotment, dig in the mud kitchen and climb on crates and tyres. Children choose to access the different outside areas and when one child requests to make mud pies staff use this opportunity to extend the children's critical

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who attend

thinking skills. For example, they ask 'how can we make mud pies?' The child replies 'water' and accesses the garden tap and fills a dish with water, bringing it to the mud kitchen. The children observe how the mud changes when the water is added, using descriptive words, such as 'it's wet', 'it's yucky'. The children are provided with a rich learning environment, which excites and motivates them. This promotes independence and encourages physical and language development. Children's self-esteem is very high and, as a result, children are confident learners. Consequently, all children are exceptionally well prepared for their next steps in learning.

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who attend

The nursery has a well-established key person system which means that the children develop exceptionally close, secure relationships with a dedicated member of staff. Staff are skilled at supporting children in reaching their highest potential. Information is gathered from parents and carers before children start, which helps with their transition into the nursery. Parents are involved in the initial assessment with the key person, ensuring starting points for the child are accurate. This means that key persons soon know their children very well and are able to plan effectively for them. Termly meetings mean parents are fully involved in their child's learning and progression. This gives parents the opportunity to look at their child's learning journal, assessments and to discuss their child's progress with their key person, and so enables them to continue their child's learning at home. Staff working in all rooms work closely with parents to encourage them to complete

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who attend

'what have we been doing at home' sheets and to contribute their own observations and photographs of their child's learning to the nursery's planning sheets. Consequently, parents have excellent opportunities to be involved in their children's learning.

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

Staff are kind, caring and attentive. As a result, the attachments between the key person and the children are exceptionally strong and promote children's well-being. Staff have successfully created a remarkably caring and secure environment where all children are warmly welcomed and feel extremely well supported. There are high expectations of the children and they are supported well in all aspects of their development. They are encouraged to be independent and to make choices, and consequently exhibit high levels of self-assurance and esteem. Children are happy and engage in their play, their independence is encouraged and children are given every opportunity to practise new skills. Parents say that their children 'love it' and frequently talk about their friends and nursery staff at home. Staff work very sensitively with all children, helping them to settle at their own pace. For example, the number of visits and length of time children are left

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

initially varies greatly to meet individual needs; children are also moved rooms in friendship groups. This helps to promote their emotional well-being. As a result, children are confident and come into nursery smiling, happy to be there and ready to learn. Staff are excellent role models. They model resources, interact with children and play with children at their level. Children enjoy staff's company and invite them into their play. Secure attachments are evident and children are happy and settled. Behaviour is managed in a positive, consistent way and, as a result, children are well behaved and learn good social skills. For example, children are able to resolve issues and take turns, with little support from staff. Staff give children lots of praise and clear explanations about conduct, consequently, children's behaviour is excellent and their self-esteem is high. Children's safety, health and well-being are extremely well promoted through the nursery's clear and

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

consistent policies and practices. Risk assessments and daily visual checks of the premises ensure that the environment is always safe, clean and fit for use.

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

Children develop an excellent understanding of the importance of exercise through a wide variety of activities and taking part in everyday discussion. Children have access to an extensive range of physical play activities in the outdoor play area. They take part in activities in the forest school, where they can make dens, climb trees and search for wildlife in the secret garden. This means that children can develop their physical skills and get fresh air and exercise as they enjoy rich and highly stimulating outdoor learning experiences. Children develop a clear understanding of how to stay safe through staff's guidance. For example, when climbing on equipment children are reminded to use one foot at a time, and at lunch time children are shown the correct way to use their knives. Children develop an understanding of healthy eating through discussions at snack and lunchtimes, growing vegetables in the allotment and regular baking activities. They learn

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

to appreciate making healthy choices and explore where food comes from. Highly nutritious and seasonal menus offer an excellent choice of healthy options. Children help themselves to drinks and babies drinks are kept within reach and fluid intakes monitored. Children are highly confident with self-care routines, for example, children demonstrate their understanding of good practices by going themselves to the bathroom to wash their hands before mealtimes. Staff have a good understanding of the procedures required when administering medication and dealing with accidents in order to safeguard children's health, and most staff have completed paediatric first-aid training.

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

Children are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage in their learning. Babies personal care is met by attentive and caring staff. They thrive on the individual attention they receive from their key person, in a relaxing, calm environment. The nursery provides exceptional support for children's move from home into the nursery, and between the age rooms. Key persons support these moves by attending visits with the children to their new room to prepare them for their next stage in their learning and development. Staff work closely with other professionals to identify individual needs, such as the family support worker and speech and language therapist. The nursery invites local schools to visit during the child's final term, however, this arrangement is still developing and there is scope to do more to do to strengthen this collaborative approach so that children are even better prepared for their move to school. Transition documents are completed by staff as

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

children move between rooms in the nursery and onto other settings. This ensures that children are confident and fully prepared for times of change and make a good start in the next stage of their learning.

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provision

The manager has a superb understanding of her responsibility in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements. As the designated lead for safeguarding, the manager has a first-rate understanding of her role and all staff have an excellent understanding of safeguarding procedures. All staff complete safeguarding training to keep updated and are well informed about child protection procedures and who to contact should they have a safeguarding concern. All children are cared for in a safe and secure environment, both indoors and out. This is due to the extensive risk assessments and daily checks carried out by staff. Robust recruitment and vetting procedures are in place, which ensures children are cared for by suitable adults. Induction for staff includes safeguarding, health and safety, including evacuation procedures and first aid training. Highly effective organisation and deployment of staff ensure ratios are maintained. Records show risk

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provision

assessment and health and safety checks are rigorous. Excellent procedures and systems are in place and are followed, which enhances safeguarding practice. This means that children are well protected in the nursery. The management team is inspirational. They have an excellent overview of how the educational programme is monitored, which ensures children make rapid progress. They monitor planning in the rooms and check children's developmental tracking sheets and analyse them to identify areas for improvement. Observations and appraisals help the manager to identify training and development needs and ensure that staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities. Staff are a highly qualified, dedicated and reflective team. The qualifications of staff and continual professional development has an extremely positive impact on outcomes for children's learning and development. The nursery's self- evaluation is robust and reflects the nursery's aims and the management's vision for the

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provision

future. The self-evaluation is carried out in consultation with parents and staff. The manager also works alongside staff, which means she can monitor the quality of teaching, and children's play and learning experiences. This means staff can continually reflect on their practice and recognise when they are doing well. The management team have a highly effective method of monitoring children's holistic development; this involves tracking children from their starting points on a regular basis until they leave. They are then able to detect any gaps in development and provide timely interventions. This means that children's individual needs are addressed promptly.

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provision

Highly effective partnerships with parents is evident. They are supportive of the nursery and comment that they feel very welcome. Parents say they are positively encouraged to be actively involved in the children's learning. Parents would highly recommend the nursery to others and feel their children are making exceptional progress with the 'lovely' staff, describing them as 'wonderful, excellent with my child.' Parents are extremely complimentary about the care and education their children receive, commenting 'the attention paid to the individual child is excellent.' Parents are invited into the setting, enhancing the learning experience for all children. Regular exchanges of information ensure that all parties are aware of the children's changing needs and that parents are successfully informed about their child's progress. In addition to the nursery website, face book page and parents forum, an abundance of informative notices and policies and

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provision

procedures are readily available. This helps ensure parents are aware of how the nursery operates and know how to raise any concerns. Partnerships with other professionals, such as speech and language therapists, health visitors and family support workers, are also in place and staff know where they can access a wide range of advice and support if they need to. Therefore, the needs of all children are securely met, with any additional support they may need quickly assessed and utilised effectively.

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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 EY360601 Local authority Durham Inspection number 857607

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 52 Number of children on roll 102 Name of provider Daypark Ltd Date of previous inspection 03/11/2008 Telephone number 0191 384 1444

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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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