Lullabies

Lullabies c/o Palmarsh Primary School, St George's Place, Hythe, Kent, CT21 6NE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/06/2014 12/12/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 4 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 The staff understand the importance of outdoor play and provide a variety of resources to promote children's interests and learning.  Staff build good relationships with the children, enabling children to develop in confidence, feel safe and have good self-esteem.  Partnership with parents is supported well by the staff who understand the importance of sharing information to meet children's individual needs.

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It is not yet good because

 A new system for recording observations and monitoring children's learning is not yet embedded in the practice, to provide an effective system.  A summative assessment for two-year-old children has not been devised, to summarise children's learning to inform future planning, and enable parents to continue children's learning at home.  Some areas of learning are less well planned for, such as mathematics and opportunities for children to develop their creative skills.  The area where the under two-year-olds play is still being developed, consequently play with natural materials is limited.

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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 spent the majority of the inspection observing the interaction between the staff and the children.  The inspector spoke to several parents to obtain their views through discussion.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed documentation including policies, procedures and children's learning journals.

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Information about the setting

Lullabies registered in 2011 and is privately owned. The nursery runs from a single storey unit in the grounds of Palmarsh Primary School, in Hythe, Kent. There is one main playroom and a sleep room, plus a kitchen and staff facilities. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. It is open each weekday from 7am to 6pm, for 50 weeks of the year.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 24 children in the early years age range on roll. The nursery cares for children from birth until three years of age. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about the setting

There are six members of staff including the manager. Three staff hold appropriate early years qualifications to at least National Vocational Qualification level 3. The manager is qualified to degree level.

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must:

 improve the observation, assessment and planning, by using children's individual interests and next steps in their learning, to ensure all areas of learning are given equal consideration and to provide enjoyable, challenging opportunities for all children

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must:

 establish and implement the progress check for two-year-old children to share children's development with parents, to support learning at home

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must:

 improve opportunities for children to develop their mathematical skills and creativity througha mix of adult-led and child-initiated play using a variety of resources

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

 develop the indoor area further, especially for the younger children, to provide natural resources for them to explore and investigate.

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who attend

The staff build sound relationships with the children and move around the nursery to where children are playing. Staff sit alongside children, talking to them and using appropriate questions to encourage children's communication skills. Children respond enthusiastically, enjoying the adult interaction. Staff are aware of those children who require additional support, with their speech for example, and they seek advice from external agencies. Children are beginning to show good listening skills during group sessions, such as story time. Staff respect individual children's learning styles and they allow children to make choices about their learning, for example, children choose whether to listen to a story or to continue playing. Staff use books well with children; staff sit on the floor with the small group, enabling children to see the picture and join in with any familiar, repetitive parts.

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who attend

The outside area is a strength of the nursery as children benefit from daily opportunities to use the interesting garden outside. Outdoor play is popular with the children because the resources outside are interesting and varied. Children are active learners as, for example, they dig in the sand and the soil, climb onto a large log, balance on stepping- stones and crawl through large tractor tyres.

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who attend

Indoors, children engage well in role play, acting out familiar roles from home, using the sink, cooker and washing machine units. Staff encourage children to talk about what they are doing and support children's imagination. The youngest children have an area separated by a low-level divider, providing a safe place for them to play, but enabling them to feel part of the nursery. However, the inside environment does not provide as rich a range of interesting and stimulating opportunities as outdoors, and consequently, children tend to prefer the garden play. The youngest children have some toys to play with to promote their fine physical skills, but opportunities to challenge their large physical skills are not always easily accessible. Display boards around the nursery do not contain children's work, and therefore do not fully promote an inclusive environment, or one where children gain a sense of belonging.

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who attend

Staff gather information from parents so that they can establish children's starting points on entry to the nursery and track their progress. They carry out regular observations of children's learning and record these in their learning journals. Staff link these to the areas of learning and the age and stage of development. However, this is a new process and not fully embedded. Consequently, there are weaknesses in the process and not all areas of learning are given equal consideration. This results in children not being able to access a full range of experiences and opportunities. Parents are informed about the learning journals and have access to these on request. They are kept up to date about their child's progress through discussions and staff encourage them to contribute to the assessment records in various ways, such as by adding photographs or written comments.

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

Staff understand the importance of building relationships with the children to support attachments and enable a successful settling-in process. Children are settled and confident within the nursery, moving around and using the available resources and making choices about where to play. Staff implement the key person process effectively, providing each child with someone with whom they can build a trusting relationship, so that they feel secure. Children behave well and the staff support them in beginning to help to solve little disputes, as they learn to share and take turns with the toys.

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

Children are able to learn about living a healthy lifestyle because staff provide healthy snacks and regular, active, outdoor learning. Snack time is a social occasion and staff provide appropriate support and talk to children about healthy eating. They are effective role models for the children as they implement sound hygiene procedures . Children learn about personal self-care skills, such as washing hands before eating and after using the toilet, promoting their well-being. Children show enthusiasm for learning outside, and the activities that staff provide engage their attention well. Children learn how to keep themselves safe in the sun through the application of sun cream and staff remind children of the importance of wearing a hat. Staff provide adequate shade for the children, to enable them to play outside for most of the day. Staff encourage children to take controlled risks and allow them to discover their own boundaries. They remind the

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

children how to keep themselves safe when playing. For example, they remind children not to climb on the settee in case they fall over the top, and to sit on the chair properly in case it tips. Outside, children learn how to climb safely and practise their balancing and jumping skills.

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

Staff arrange the room into two areas, one area for the youngest, non-mobile children, and the other half for the older children. Each area has toys and resources appropriate for the age and stage of the children. However, the area for the younger children is still being developed and resources are fairly minimal. They do not include natural resources, preventing children from making the most of opportunities to learn using their senses. Activities and resources to promote children's understanding and skills in mathematics and for them to express themselves through creative play, are limited throughout the nursery.

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

The nursery only takes children until they are three years old and then children move to the nursery next door, which cares for them until they go to school. The staff understand the importance of preparing children for the move to the new setting and they actively support settling-in sessions. With permission from parents, they share the children's learning journals with the nursery, so that children's needs can be met from the outset and they experience continuity in their learning. Children are encouraged to develop their personal independence, becoming toilet trained and learning how to wash their hands. They learn how to put on their shoes and jumpers for outdoor play, in preparation for school.

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provision

The leadership and management of the nursery are well qualified and are working with the local authority to implement the structured action plan created after the previous inspection. The nursery received a monitoring visit after the last inspection to make improvements for outcomes for the children. These improvements have ensured that children's individual needs being planned for more effectively. They have made various improvements to ensure children's needs and starting points are identified to inform the observation and assessment process. The management team is monitoring and evaluating practice to identify appropriate areas for future improvement. In addition, staff share their opinions and ideas at regular staff meetings and parents' views have been sought through the use of a questionnaire. Consequently, the self-evaluation provides views from all parties involved. However, many of the new processes implemented from the action plan

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provision

regarding observation and assessment have not been operating for long enough to embed into daily practice, to show evidence of sustained improvement at the time of inspection.

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provision

Safeguarding procedures are secure within the nursery. All staff have attended safeguarding training and are able to detail the procedure to follow should they have any concerns about children in their care. All staff know the policy, including how to implement the whistle-blowing procedure. Safe, secure recruitment procedures are now implemented, and managerial staff all hold relevant early years qualifications. An induction process is in place to ensure staff have the necessary knowledge before starting at the nursery. All staff are encouraged to attend regular training to maintain their professional development. Annual appraisals and regular supervisions help ensure the ongoing suitability of the staff. Staff are vigilant about safety and observe the children at all times, deploying themselves effectively to ensure children's safety both indoors and outdoors. Suitable daily and yearly risk assessments are established to enable children to play in a

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provision

Staff understand the importance of working in partnership with parents and outside professionals. Parents are welcomed into the nursery and are given copies of the policies and procedures. Information is regularly shared, both verbally and through the home link books, to keep parents informed about children's progress. In addition, those children requiring additional support with aspects of their development, receive tailored support from outside professionals. Partnerships are being developed with other providers and outside agencies, to provide useful information to support children's progress and development.

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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 EY428701 Local authority Kent Inspection number 965370 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 3 Total number of places 19 Number of children on roll 24 Name of provider Elizabeth Anne Wells Date of previous inspection 12/12/2013 Telephone number 07724736574

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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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