Heath House Day Nursery

Heath House Day Nursery 52 Fleet Rd, Fleet, Hampshire, GU51 4PA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/04/2014 15/06/2009

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early years provision

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

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This provision requires improvement

 The staff offer children and their families a welcoming environment with a friendly atmosphere. The environment is generally safe and adequately resourced.  Children's care needs are suitably met because staff support their routines for rest and meet their dietary needs. They gain suitable personal skills for their move to school.  Children enjoy the activities on offer, appear settled and are generally occupied in their day. Partnerships with parents and others have some positive impact on children's care and learning.

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It is not yet good because

 The quality of teaching requires improvement because some staff do not have a secure enough understanding of how young children learn. They do not always identify, plan or extend children's learning as well as they could.  The outdoor areas are not used well enough to provide a good range of planned activities that support children to make better progress in their learning.  Practice in some rooms is stronger than others. This has led to differences in the amount of progress some children make. Staff training and monitoring has not quickly tackled these inconsistencies. There are weaknesses in self-evaluation, how staff manage routines and maintain documentation and how they track and support children's progress.

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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 inspectors observed children's play experiences, activities and interactions with staff in all rooms of the nursery and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including evidence of suitability of staff working with children in the nursery and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's observation, tracking and assessment records and discussed their progress with staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the owner and senior staff members and undertook a series of joint observation of activities which were then discussed.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took into account the views of parents and carers by analysing information from the parents' questionnaires and talking to parents.

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Information about the setting

Heath House Day Nursery registered in 2009 and is a privately owned setting. The nursery operates from a converted house in Fleet, Hampshire. Children have access to four main base rooms and there are secure garden spaces for outdoor play. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm for 51 weeks of the year. Children may attend a variety of sessions. There are currently 124 children on roll. The nursery offers the provision of free early education to children aged three and four. The nursery supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 29 members of staff who work directly with the children. The majority hold relevant childcare qualifications at level 3 and above. Three staff are working towards qualifications. The nursery also employs two staff with degree qualifications in

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Information about the setting

early years and one member of staff holds Qualified Teacher Status. A teacher of Spanish and French provides weekly peripatetic tuition.

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must:

 improve staff's knowledge of the learning and development requirements in order to consider the individual needs, interests, and stage of development of each child, and use this information to accurately identify their next steps in order to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child in all of the areas of learning and development

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must:

 implement effective procedures for the supervision of staff who have contact with children and families, which includes opportunities for staff to discuss any issues concerning children's development or well-being; identify solutions to address issues as they arise; and receive coaching to improve their personal effectiveness

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

 develop the use of the outdoors so that children can access a wider range of play opportunities to support their progress across all areas of learning

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

 review and extend the self-evaluation processes to drive continuous improvement more robustly, identifying and targeting key aspects of practice that will rapidly improve the quality of teaching and outcomes for children.

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who attend

Children make steady progress in relation to their starting points. All staff are kind and caring in their interactions and overall children appear happy and suitably settled in this friendly, family run nursery. On entry to the nursery, staff gather suitable levels of information from parents to help determine children's starting points and individual needs. Settling-in visits support this further as staff spend time with each parent and child, getting to know the family. Staff regularly complete observations of children which are detailed in their learning journeys. Staff share this information, together with photographs of children at play and monthly summary statements, with parents to keep them informed of their child's progress. They invite parents to attend evenings where they are able to discuss their child's progress in more depth with staff. Parents are able to read about the progress their child is making and discuss the next steps in their learning. However,

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who attend

because some staff have a weaker understanding of how to identify and track children's learning some assessment information is not a precise as it could be. Therefore the accuracy with which staff complete their observations and the level of detail shared in the assessments does not always provide a good level of information. In addition, next steps in learning for some children are less focused on the most important areas of their development. This means that staff are not necessarily tailoring their planning or interactions with the children's most important learning outcome in mind and focus more broadly on general development milestones. However, staff generally know their key children well and through general discussions, parents get an adequate overview of the progress their child is making and some ideas on how to build on learning further at home.

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who attend

The quality of the teaching across the nursery is variable. This is largely dependent on staff's qualifications, their understanding of how to promote learning and their levels of confidence. There are examples of good teaching observed in some rooms and weaker teaching in others. This variable practice means that not all children make the same level of progress as others in the nursery, given their starting points. This is especially evident in the middle age groups in the nursery where children make only steady progress in their learning, rather than good progress. This is particularly relevant in some areas of children's learning, such as in their communication and language and areas of their personal and emotional development.

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who attend

Nonetheless, teaching in the pre-school age group is good. Staff confidently discuss the support they provide for children based on accurate and evaluative observations of each child. Teaching techniques are stronger here because staff are well qualified. As a result, they create a positive climate for learning which keeps children interested and engaged. For example, during a large group activity a staff member successfully encourages each child to build on their confidence, speaking skills and recall of events as they discuss what they have enjoyed most about their day. The member of staff leading this activity responds appropriately to each child, valuing their efforts to speak in a large group. Her level of questioning and interaction is effectively tailored for each child because she knows them well. Children's participation is valued and they sit for an extended period of time given their age. There is a wide range of activities on offer indoors and the value that

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who attend

these add to each child's learning and progress in this room is also good. Staff in this room plan a challenging range of activities that reflect children's interests and abilities because the cycle of observation, planning and assessment is secure. There is a busy feel to the room because children are actively engaged in activities, enjoying their time at nursery and making good progress in their learning. Samples of children's progress records show that groups of children, including those who have lower starting points on entry, are working within the age range of development expected for their age. Children who speak English in addition to their home language have caught up with their peers and are now well prepared for the next stage in their learning.

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who attend

Teaching of children in the mid-age range requires improvement. Staff provide an adequate range of activities which keep children suitably occupied and happy in their day. They can choose from a suitable range of resources in the room. However, because staff in these rooms are not always confident in what each child could gain from the activities on offer, staff are unable to offer enough focused support. This means that activities generally lack challenge and do not always build on what children already know and can do. Focus activities in the day, such as cooking or painting, allow the children to work in smaller groups with staff. For example, during a cooking activity, a staff member helps children to recognise and talk about the changes in the mixture they are whisking. Children are able to help and learn about taking turns as they each pour sugar from the bag into the bowl. However, overall this activity lacked the elements of good teaching

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who attend

because staff did not plan ahead sufficiently for the children's individual needs. For example, children were not able to become actively involved throughout because the staff did not provide them with opportunities to spoon the sugar into the bowl or count while doing this because the overall preparation was poor. Concepts such 'more than' and 'less than' were not explored and the lack of any visual prompts aimed at their age range meant that they missed the opportunity to 'read' the recipe and follow it in order to recognise that print carries meaning. Staff had not prepared the range of resources they needed so they spent time walking to and from the kitchen in order to find these, leaving the children unattended for periods of time. The final project was finished by staff because children had become disinterested and walked away. Children are also provided with access to the outdoor area when the routine allows. Staff state that they plan for outdoor

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who attend

play. However, they do not deliver this sufficiently well and activities are generally mundane as children run outside in the fresh air. This is also evident through many examples of practice and as a result, this means that teaching in this age range requires some improvement to be good. Nevertheless, children enjoy the attention they receive from staff, are beginning to make friends and enjoy the activities on offer.

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who attend

Children in the baby room benefit from caring staff who have a good understanding of how to meet their needs. They provide children with a varied range of activities in the day that are generally enjoyable and presented around their individual sleep and feeding routines. This means that the youngest children are very settled, which helps them take part in what is offered. Staff know what children enjoy playing with and what they need to do next in their learning. For example, one child enjoys the feel of paper and staff provide him with opportunities to draw, while another child likes to play in the sand and relishes his time sitting in the sand tray and pouring sand. Staff in this room have a good understanding of child development so are able to plan and support children's individual needs. They track children's achievements well and share accurate information with parents.

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

Children are happy to come to nursery because staff build strong, caring and respectful relationships with families. A suitable key person system operates within the nursery and is particularly strong in the baby room. This is because staff know their key children very well and this helps build a sense of security and safety. Other children are beginning to form stronger attachments with key staff, following revisions to the key person system after recent changes to staffing. Acceptable systems are in place to support children as they move rooms, such as discussions with new key persons, sharing children's developmental progress reports and settling-in visits. As a result, children experience continuity and consistency of their care and learning.

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

Overall routines, staff deployment and activities support the varying needs of the children in the nursery to a satisfactory level throughout the day, with some good practice evident across some rooms in the nursery. The organisation within the younger age range room requires some improvement because it takes staff too long to get organised for routine changes in the day, for example, getting children's coats before going outside or preparing for snack time. In addition, staff follow a room routine that means that children are often taken from their play to have their nappy changed because staff are overly focused on completing care routines. This breaks up the natural flow of children's play.

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

Access across the nursery to the outdoor area means that children experience daily fresh air and exercise. These opportunities however are used with marginal success because staff do not plan purposefully enough to support children's learning when they are outside. The range of outdoor resources is largely plastic and those on offer only add some value to learning. Children have some opportunities to dig and plant, although this does not occur on a daily basis. Staff have used the mint children grew in the outdoor area to add a minty smell to their play dough, which supports children's basic awareness of how things grow. The indoor areas are suitably resourced, with some natural materials for children to play with and areas for rest and play. These are mostly accessible. This means that children experience an adequate balance of child-initiated and adult-led activities to meet their individual learning styles and help them continue to make progress.

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

Children follow good hygiene routines, such as hand washing, and staff provide some simple explanations as to why this is important. Staff carry out good hygiene measures, such as cleaning their hands with hand sanitiser after wiping children's noses, and they wear protective clothing when changing nappies or handling food. This minimises cross infection. Children benefit from a healthy based menu, which encourages them to develop their tastes for different foods. This caters well for children's individual dietary needs.

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

Children's safety is generally promoted. They talk about their own and others' safety as they play, knowing to be careful outdoors in case they slip. They are involved in routine activities which develop their understanding of safety, such as tidying the toys away so that others do not trip or taking part in the fire drill so they know how to swiftly exit the premises in an emergency. Appropriate action is taken to ensure accidents are kept to a minimum and staff are qualified to administer treatment. Suitable procedures are followed for the administration of medication. The treatment of ongoing medical needs is suitably risk assessed and monitored.

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

Staff help children manage their behaviour as they explain about sharing, distract children with resources and talk about feelings. Behaviour is steadily improving as staff become more confident in implementing new strategies. For example, children in the pre-school room have developed a system of golden rules after concerns were raised about low level disagreements. Children now show a developing understanding of the behavioural expectations, demonstrating generally good self-control, as they listen to staff explanations, share resources and play together. Staff in other areas of the nursery are gaining confidence in applying the nursery's behaviour policy by using strategies and techniques that are appropriate to each child's level of understanding.

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

Arrangements for children to move between rooms in the nursery and on to school are satisfactory. Staff take some suitable steps to prepare children for school, such as inviting teachers in to visit them, and making photo books of the various schools children will attend to help them with their move to primary school. Younger children have opportunities to visit their new rooms with their key persons, which help them settle suitably well.

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provision

The owners have an adequate understanding of their responsibilities to meet requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They talk passionately about their nursery and how they monitor processes through observations of staff and scrutiny of documents and draw up action plans to remedy any weaknesses noted. However, while the owners discuss this ongoing commitment to improvement, their current system of monitoring is not focused closely enough on a secure analysis of need and impact. As a result, their own self- evaluation has not been accurate or precise enough in identifying the most urgent aspects of practice that need to be addressed or robust enough to bring about rapid improvements in quality of teaching. Additional workshops for staff and training events have not sufficiently improved practice and opportunities for staff to be effectively mentored and coached to improve their teaching and overall effectiveness have yet to be introduced.

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provision

This is a breach in requirements and has impacted on the amount of progress that children make in their learning.

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provision

Further monitoring processes to ensure children's well-being in the nursery are adequate. Senior staff complete daily checks to ensure that required documentation is kept up to date and these are again monitored with varying success. For example, on the day of the inspection it was found that some rooms maintain an accurate record of children's attendance while one room was unable to provide the required information for a short time because the documents were misplaced. Although documentation was eventually found, staff had failed to notice these discrepancies. In addition, this inspection also found that systems to safeguard children are only satisfactory because staff are not sufficiently proactive in ensuring that children's privacy is always fully assured at nappy-changing time. It was also noted that there are minor hygiene issues with a carpet in one of the main play rooms and the nursery has also failed to register with the Information

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provision

Commissioner's Office for data protection. Although these issues have had limited impact so far, they demonstrate that senior staff's understanding is not secure and daily practice in the nursery has yet to become good.

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provision

Procedures to monitor the effectiveness of the educational programme are satisfactory overall. The owner takes responsibility for overseeing the delivery of the educational programme in the nursery. She demonstrates an adequate understanding of her responsibilities. She has yet to ensure that her role includes checking children's learning journey records for accuracy and consistency more than frequency of observations to ensure that they reflect a clear picture of children's learning. Those children who have starting points below their peers in the middle age rooms in the nursery are just starting to catch up, although very slowly. In addition, the system for monitoring staff performance is not linked well enough to the levels of progress that children make in their learning and development. This means that the owner has not made effective use of children's assessments to gather information about trends in progress, in order to link this

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provision

Staff are generally aware of their safeguarding responsibilities. They know how to recognise abuse and the procedures to follow should they note a concern. This extends to staff who provide cover for absences as well as new staff, who are aware of their role to safeguard children because of the induction they undertake when they first start. A regular programme of safeguarding training ensures staff strengthen their knowledge and understanding in this area. However, procedures to keep up to date in between training are only satisfactory because the owner has not updated her understanding sufficiently enough to reflect changes to local safeguarding procedures. Nevertheless, she still has sufficient information to act upon should a concern arise. Recruitment procedures are generally sound although more recently, these are not focused enough on recruiting good quality staff for the weaker rooms in the nursery, which has led to further weaknesses in

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provision

the quality of teaching. The owner follows suitable procedures to ensure staff suitability is checked before they start work in the setting. A Disclosure and Barring Service check is obtained for each member of staff who works on the premises when children are there, including regular visitors to the nursery, such as the teacher of French and Spanish. The owner has a basic knowledge of why she needs to check staff's ongoing suitability. Although there are some procedures in place to check staff's suitability since their original checks were obtained, she has yet to implement a robust procedure. Nonetheless, staff state that they know to disclose any changes to their health or ongoing suitability. A brief whistleblowing policy is in place and staff discuss who they would contact if they have a concern about another member of staff. A mobile phone and camera policy is suitably enforced in the nursery and CCTV cameras monitor all rooms and outdoor spaces. There

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provision

are controlled entry systems at each main door which enable staff to monitor who accesses the building. Staff undertake adequate daily risk assessments of all areas, resources and equipment to promote children's safety. Staff ratios are met. Further documentation, such as details of accidents, medication and incidents, are suitably recorded and acted upon to ensure the ongoing safety of children in the nursery. Concerns raised by parents are suitably addressed.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are generally positive and parents express great satisfaction with the levels of information shared with them and the care that their child receives. The nursery provides information for parents in their newsletters and on display boards around the nursery. The nursery has extended opportunities for families to become more involved in activities in the nursery, for example, by organising a family event, such as visiting a farm together. Parents are invited to share experiences from home as they are encouraged to fill in observation sheets of their own or write diary entries for the nursery bear. Daily verbal exchanges of information take place and staff and the managers demonstrate a willingness to accommodate any parental requests if they can. Parents of younger children receive daily written feedback about their children's day in respect of their care needs, such as feeding and sleep times. This promotes continuity of care for

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provision

Links have been made with the other nurseries and schools in the local area and provide staff with opportunities to gather and implement new ideas and share good practice. For example, a handwriting workshop at a local cluster school provided staff with the understanding of how to model and promote cursive writing in the nursery with the older age groups in preparation for school. While this is still becoming embedded, this demonstrates a commitment to getting children ready in time for their move on to school. Staff have secured some links with outside agencies to seek advice and support for children's individual needs.

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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 EY381395 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 956578 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 110 Number of children on roll 124 Name of provider Kzar Childcare Limited Date of previous inspection 15/06/2009 Telephone number 01256 395123

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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

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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