Little Gardners Nursery

Little Gardners Nursery Ltd Marchwood Junior School, Main Road, Marchwood, SOUTHAMPTON, SO40 4ZH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/06/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Children are making good progress in their learning and development given their starting points, their individual needs, and length of time at the setting.  Staff are extremely caring and committed, helping children feel emotionally secure and giving them the confidence to settle into new and exciting activities.  Staff have already established a range of strategies to share information and work effectively with parents to support children's learning, development and well-being.  The leadership team have set themselves high standards in meeting and delivering the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and have made an exceptionally good start.  Partnership working with other local nurseries and the infant school help to make children's moves to new settings smooth and positive.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The Special Educational Needs Coordinator has limited experience of driving forward early interventions and multi-agency working to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.  The woodland area is hard for babies and toddlers to access and enjoy.

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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 observed a wide range of activities across all areas of the nursery and talked with staff and children about what they were doing.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed documents and procedures relating to safeguarding, staffing, supervision, risk assessment, equal opportunities and health and safety, and checked a selection of other policies.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of children's records, the nursery's systems for planning, evaluation and exchanging information with parents and external professionals.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day and reviewed written communication from parents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector met with the leadership team and conducted a brief joint observation with the manager.

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Information about the setting

Little Gardners Nursery registered in 2014. It is run by a family owned limited company. The nursery operates from a single story, modular building, next door to the site of Marchwood Junior school, near Southampton. The premises include two large playrooms and associated facilities, along with three enclosed outdoor play areas. All facilities are on the ground floor and suitable for wheelchair access. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is open each weekday from 8am until 6pm, except during bank holidays, a week in August and a week in December. Children may attend for a variety of full-time or part-time sessions. A range of start and finish times are also available. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. Staff welcome children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who are learning English as an additional language. There are currently 69 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age range.

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Information about the setting

The two company directors are the overall managers of the setting. There are nine staff who work with the children and an administrator. The manager and a second member of staff hold relevant qualifications at levels 5 and 6 respectively. With the exception of one trainee, all other members of staff hold relevant qualifications at level 3.

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

 strengthen development plans to include a wider range of opportunities for babies and toddlers to explore the outdoor woodland area

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

 build upon the setting's strength and commitment to nurturing children with special educational needs and/or disabilities by embracing forthcoming changes in requirements. Use and extend this knowledge so that individual children achieve maximum benefit from early interventions.

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who attend

Children are making good progress in their learning and development at this new, caring, and well-organised nursery. Staff create enticing opportunities for children to play and explore in each of the indoor and outdoor areas. Each location includes cosy spaces where staff gather children for nursery rhymes, stories, and music sessions. They also provide quiet places when children need time to themselves to reflect or enjoy a good book or puzzle. Staff arrange toys and resources so that children may see, reach and choose to follow their own interests. Toddlers learn to handle small tools as they choose to paint with rollers, sponges, and small brushes. Older children, select craft materials from a wide range of media and materials stored in well-labelled containers around their creative area. Children try new activities, practise skills, and gain self-confidence as they make discoveries about their own abilities and the world around them. Staff encourage children

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who attend

to follow their own ideas and give them time to develop their thoughts and feelings imaginatively. Children are keen learners who investigate freely and happily as attentive staff keep a watchful eye over them.

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who attend

Staff ensure the activities they plan and provide for children facilitate all areas of their learning and development. Children enjoy role play as they make potions with corn flour gloop or stir new dishes in the mud kitchen. They express real and imaginary experiences as they pretend to fight fires at the outdoor playhouse or change nappies on baby dolls. Staff provide and sometimes lead a wide range of games to support children's growing understanding of numbers, shapes, spaces, and measurement. As a result, children of all ages improve their skills in judging distances or moving sand and water from one size of container to another. Staff help children understand and use numbers to count on and take away, as they learn finger rhymes or throw beanbags into numbered tyres. Staff prepare children for school by rehearsing playground games with older children. Consequently, children are ready for such changes and manage them with more self-

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who attend

Staff know the children well and adjust their teaching techniques and expectations to meet the current needs of each child in their care. Routine observations of children's achievements inform weekly planning of new activities that build on their interests and add new challenges. Staff use an online system to record their observations and illustrations of children's progress. Over time, this gives them a very clear indication of how much progress each child is making and whether or not there are any gaps, delays, or strengths in their learning. Staff and parents use such information to add new teaching strategies to help children in specific areas. They may also wish to prompt referrals for specialist guidance so children's individual needs can be met effectively. Early and appropriate intervention does however rely upon staff's knowledge of the pathways for referral and these processes are changing. The special educational needs coordinator is

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who attend

relatively new to the position with little experience of the procedures to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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who attend

Parents greatly appreciate the online photographs and observations of their children's achievements. They can only access their own child's records and agree not to share any photographs of other children through social networking sites. Parents like these quick updates as they provide a look into their children's pre-school life. Children are more likely to talk about their activities and friendships when parents ask a well-pitched question so parents learn more about their child's day and how they may carry over activities at home. Currently, staff prepare written reports on children's progress, but as the online system develops these too will be stored online. Parents commend staff for their daily personal updates, informative parents' evenings and for seeking their ideas and help towards improvements at the nursery.

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

Each child has a key person who tailors children's care and learning to meet their individual needs. Senior staff offer to visit children and their families at home before children start at the nursery. This gives parents and carers time to inform staff about children's needs and preferences, and their likes and dislikes. Staff gather as much information as they can about children to help them settle into the nursery and feel secure and comfortable in their new venture. For example, staff ensure that children with specific dietary needs are given appropriate fresh meals from the start. Managers employ a local caterer who cooks and supplies healthy, balanced hot meals that meet all dietary requirements each day. Staff are diligent in checking they provide the very best meals for children, at just the right temperature and with enough variety to extend children's enjoyment of food. Children learn about the diversity of different cultural dishes and

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

celebrations and about the importance of choosing a healthy diet.

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

Meal times also provide opportunities for staff to encourage children to learn increasing levels of independence. Children soon learn to pour their own water or milk, clear away their plates and tidy tables ready for the next activity. Children also learn to take some responsibility for their environment as they mop up spillages, coordinate a dustpan and brush, and put tissues in the bin. This is all because staff have thought through how they may facilitate children's growing independence. Staff arrange the room so children know where to find equipment and they gently guide and expect children to join take on small responsibilities and work as part of group. Children rise to these expectations and learn to be helpful citizens, who notice risks and do something to make sure no one gets hurt. For example, as children move drainpipes to make a run for cars in the garden area, children comment that 'a bit sticks out too much'. Children negotiate with each other about where

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

to put the pipe so no one falls over it. Children learn to risk assess and help to keep each other safe because staff model these behaviours and expectations on a daily basis. Children become competent at managing their personal needs and activities relative to their ages.

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

Staff meet regularly with the early years teacher from the local infant school and with other local nursery staff. Such good working relationships help staff to know how the different settings operate and how they may prepare children who are moving on to different settings. These meetings also provide a forum for staff to learn from each other and to identify ways of improving their services for all children. Arrangements are in place for children moving on to school to meet with their new teachers informally at a teddy bear's picnic as well as in their new classroom. Staff from the nurseries are also welcome and provide children with the security they need to break into new ground and take on new challenges. Staff prepare children well emotionally and socially for their moves to school.

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provision

Leadership and management at this new nursery is proving to be well-organised and effective in setting high standards across all areas of the provision. Managers design educational programmes that cover a broad range of experiences. Consequently, children make good progress towards all the early learning goals. Managers choose and work hard to bring together a strong team of staff with different skills and experiences. Staff unite in their drive to create a dynamic nursery that meets the needs of all the children and their families. This makes for a happy, welcoming, and professional learning environment where children soon settle and thrive.

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provision

Managers use a tight system for recording children's progress across all areas of learning and development. Systems are also in place to monitor consistency and accuracy of assessments and planning activities, which challenge children appropriately. Precise monitoring is already beginning to help staff identify children who are likely to benefit from more help or different teaching strategies. Individual needs are identified early, with some interventions making a considerable difference to children's lives. As a team, staff have experience in teaching children with some specific special educational needs and/or disabilities. They do not all have the same range of experience in securing the additional support children need to make the most of early identification and intervention for individual children.

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provision

Leadership and management have a good understanding of and robust procedures in place to meet, the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. All staff make safeguarding children a priority in their daily activities and help children to learn how to keep themselves safe and healthy. Managers ensure that systems are in place to train and keep staff alert to any concerns about the welfare or safety of the children in their care. Managers also know when to contact the Local Children Safeguarding Children Board or Ofsted and make these contact numbers easily accessible should any staff or parents' have concerns. Procedures to recruit, vet, and induct new staff follow guidance for safer recruitment. Managers also take all necessary precautions to ensure that all adults on site are and remain suitable to work with children. Regular supervisions to support staff and monitor their performance also help to ensure that all staff keep children safe throughout

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provision

The nursery staff follow clear policies and procedures for assessing the environment for any risks to children's safety and for minimising such risks. As a result, staff do everything possible to make and keep the environment safe for children. The nursery has written policy and procedures for administering medicines including records for permission for emergency medical advice or treatment, non-prescribed and prescribed medicines. Most staff have recent training in first aid and they keep and share clear written records of accidents, injuries, and first-aid treatment with parents. Staff maintain a record of evacuation drills, where they log two practises per term, along with the time taken to evacuate the buildings.

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provision

The manager has a mechanism for self-evaluation, which includes the views of staff and parents. This includes a programme of professional development for all staff, which strengthens skills in meeting the needs of specific of children who attend the nursery. Priorities for improvement are identified with actions towards many areas well underway. Parents, carers, and members of the local community supported staff in a D.I.Y. day where together they cleared and made safe an enclosed woodland area adjacent to the nursery and pre-school play areas. While this area is now suitable for the older children to explore, it has little to offer babies and toddlers, which is an area of improvement not clearly identified on current plans. However, staff have identified the need to add a temporary screen along the public footpath in addition to the longer-term plan for a hedge. This is to provide more privacy as the youngest children splash about in paddling

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provision

pools during the summer months. Staff, parents, and carers are working well together to create this new and exciting nursery at the heart of their community. The overall quality and standards of the nursery is already very good and reflects the professional knowledge, drive, and attention to detail of the leadership team.

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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 EY473827 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 949738 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 55 Number of children on roll 69 Name of provider Little Gardners Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 02381157199

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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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