Maple Vue Nursery

Maple Vue Nursery Maple Vue Childrens Centre, Belle Vue Road, ALDERSHOT, Hampshire, GU12 4RZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/07/2014 17/03/2014

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Education programmes are stronger for all children following a thorough audit and re- organisation of the setting. Children choose between a wide range of activities that enhance all areas of their learning and development.  Systems for observing, assessing, and planning activities for children are more robust, resulting in staff having a sharper focus on helping all children to reach their full potential.  Managers have thorough systems in place to evaluate the quality of practice and the impact this has on outcomes for children.  Care practices are effective in helping children feel emotionally secure and ensuring children are physically and emotionally healthy.  Parents are confident in the setting and say the managers are readily available to work with them to secure a very good start for their children.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Systems for staff development and mutual support, through meeting to share ideas, celebrate successes and reflect on practice, are not fully developed and embedded.  Strategies to promote children's good behaviour are not shared with parents so that children experience consistency and continuity in expectations between home and the nursery.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed a wide range of activities across all areas of the setting 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 setting'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 joint observation with the deputy manager.

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Information about the setting

Maple Vue Nursery registered with Ofsted in 2011. It is managed by Children's Links and operates from a purpose-built centre with an enclosed outdoor play area. The setting serves the local community and is next to the local Children's Centre and within the grounds of Belle Vue Infant School in Aldershot, Hampshire. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary part of the Childcare Register. There are currently 94 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age range. The setting is open each week day from 8am to 6pm throughout the year, except for Bank Holidays and a week at Christmas. Children attend for a variety of full-time or part-time sessions. The setting is in receipt of funding for the provision of early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. The provision welcomes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are learning English as an additional language. The

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Information about the setting

nursery employs 17 permanent and three regular bank staff, of whom 18 hold relevant early years qualifications at level 3 or above. The manager has a degree in Early Years education and holds Early Years Professional Status.

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

 share strategies to promote children's good behaviour with parents, so that children experience consistency and continuity in expectations between home and the nursery.

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

 develop further the system for mutual staff support to help sustain confident, reflective practice that makes a difference to children's achievements.

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who attend

Children are making good progress in their learning and development following an intense programme of review and improvement across the setting. The new manager listens to and rapidly implements guidance from her local authority support teamShe shares her vision with an enthusiastic and committed team of staff, and ensures they understand, follow, and evaluate a succession of steps to raise standards for all children. Thorough audits of the indoor and outdoor learning environments help staff identify more effective ways for children to learn. For example, staff create learning zones across the setting and store useful resources within sight and reach of children. Children easily access crayons, scissors, glue, and craft materials from clear well-labelled trays in low units next to craft tables. Staff provide a rich and diverse outdoor environment where children burn off energy, investigate the natural world and snuggle up for stories. Staff provide children with ample

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who attend

resources so they may play and explore, investigate and learn through good quality first- hand experiences. Staff supervise well as children test out and develop their physical skills on the climbing apparatus. They place construction cones and barriers between the road track and a muddy digging area, and children's imaginations flourish as they choose and use spades, hard hats, and chalk for new road signs. Children are happy; they access and choose from a wide range of activities that stimulate all areas of their learning and development.

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who attend

Staff give children time and opportunity to follow and develop their own ideas and lines of enquiry. They use this time to observe children's interests and achievements and to note how children learn best. This helps staff to link in with children's play at appropriate times such as when children are struggling to find words to express themselves, take turns, or negotiate the rules of a game. New, more rigorous systems of observation, assessment, and planning mean staff know how to extend children's learning effectively. Consequently, when staff do join children's play they challenge children's thinking and understanding, helping them make progress across all areas of learning and development. For example, staff recognise and build upon toddlers' interests in animals by introducing non-fiction books with clear photographs. Staff model, and children practise, saying new sounds such as 's' for snake. They know when to model 'snap snap' with and without supporting hand

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who attend

movements and when to wait for children to imitate harder words such as 'crocodile'. This is good quality teaching based on reflective and effective systems of observation, assessment and planning for children's next steps. As a result, children develop good listening skills and use these to shape new sounds, words, and rhymes, which form the basis for clear speech, reading, and writing. Staff help children to develop good literacy skills as they learn to write their names and to find information in reference books.

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who attend

All staff regularly up date records, which track children's progress over time. Staff meet with parents to review children's skills, prepare progress checks to share with other professionals and discuss how they can help children move forward. The impact of recent training in working with two-year-olds is evident in how staff work with young children. A keen focus on identifying and recording children's starting points and progress along their learning journey means that parents and staff quickly recognise any gaps and delays in development. This triggers additional help from within the setting or when engaging specialist support from outside the setting. Staff and parents therefore work together to close gaps and help children progress towards the early learning goals prior to starting school. This is particularly effective when children are learning English as an additional language and for those children who have special educational needs or are disabled.

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who attend

Parents recognise and appreciate recent changes in the setting and feel comfortable with the new manager and confident in the staff team. The setting is now good at meeting the needs of the children who attend. Children are generally working within the appropriate age bands and staff know how to help them meet their full potential.

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

Children's behaviour shows they feel safe and secure with their key person and other room staff. Before children start at the setting staff learn as much as they can from parents about their children's likes and dislikes, needs and preferences. This helps staff plan activities that will engage children from the start and provide care that meets their individual needs. Daily diaries include details of care routines and children's activities during the day. These include space for parents and carers to add their own message and updates for staff. Notice boards include photographs, qualifications, and key person groupings to help parents identify every member of staff. These measures foster good partnerships with parents from the start, helping children to settle in quickly as parents and staff are confident in care procedures.

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

The key person system ensures there is one person who takes responsibility for tailoring care and learning to meet children's individual needs. In addition, the manager allocates a second member of staff to work in partnership with the key person. She does this so there is always someone familiar available to provide appropriate support to each child and their family. Children are more willing to explore new games and opportunities because the key person system gives them a stable and reliable base from which to venture forth. Staff from each area of the nursery contribute to children's learning journals with additional observations and celebrations. Children are, therefore well known to all the staff they are with each day. To varying degrees, children in different age groups meet up during the day. Siblings greet each other, while older children moderate their behaviour to care for the babies. Toddlers play with and around the older children, developing the self-

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

confidence to move into the older classroom when the time is right for them.

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

Staff promote children's hygiene well. They teach children to wash their hands with soap and water before sitting down to eat or after using the toilet, displaying visual reminders in the toilets to remind children about hand washing. Staff provide a box of tissues and anti-bacterial foam for the children to use when they are blowing their noses and encourage the children to dispose of their tissues appropriately in the bin provided. Children come to understand that good hygiene routines kill germs and they take increasing responsibility for managing their own basic needs, to keep themselves healthy.

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

Staff also prepare children well for their moves to school. Children regularly cross the playground to visit the school library and they use the school playground for fire drill evacuations. School staff and special educational needs coordinators, also cross back and forth throughout the summer term as they discuss and prepare to meet the children's needs. Staff at the setting summarise children's progress so that information is clearly available to their new teachers. Children practise dressing up in school uniform and rearrange role-play areas to form an imaginary classroom. Children become more independent in managing small tasks for themselves as they do up shoes, find their own sun hats and clear away toys. Staff prepare children well for change so they are ready and enthusiastic about moving on to their next ventures.

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

Improvements in the way staff organise and move around play areas give children more scope to build relationships, develop their own interests and experience in a rich and varied learning environment. This promotes positive behaviour, as children are motivated to take part in activities of their choosing. Staff routinely change or combine resources in different ways with children contributing their ideas to planning and creating activities that excite them. Staff undertake various training projects and programmes to promote positive behaviour across the setting. This is helping staff improve the quality of their teaching and interaction with children. Staff are also beginning to raise children's awareness of their own behaviour and to equip them with a wider range of strategies to manage challenging emotions and relationships. There are plans to share helpful strategies with parents. This supports continuity in developing children's self-esteem,

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

positive behaviour, and confidence across different situations.

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

The manager and her team place a high priority on strengthening and implementing procedures to help protect and support children. They also help children to understand how to keep themselves healthy and safe relative to their ages. Staff and parents have worked together to improve the nutritional value of the food children eat throughout the day. Staff teach children how to choose a healthy and balanced diet through board games and through the children's cookery books they use for real and imaginary cooking. Children learn the names and additional value of herbs as their pretend dinosaur jungle doubles up as a kitchen garden. Children also learn to care for their environment as committed staff recycle waste. The re-organised outdoor area has space for children to burn off energy as they peddle around, balance and practise playground games. This means that children greatly enjoy being outdoors in the fresh air for long periods during

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provision

The manager and her team are working through, and adding to, a comprehensive development plan. With support from their advisory team, they have accurately identified how to address the areas for improvement arising from their last inspection. Education programmes are stronger for all children following a thorough audit and re-organisation of the setting. Systems for observing, assessing, and planning activities for children are more robust, resulting in staff having a sharper focus on helping all children to reach their full potential. Six new members of well-qualified and experienced staff replace bank staff and work well with the existing team who know the community well. Strategies for managing children's behaviour are more effective with planning for a further development programme in the next few months. The manager and her deputy monitor practice closely and have a clear ethos of self-evaluation. This is beginning to filter through each of the

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provision

room teams, although systems for staff development through mutual support and reflection are not fully developed and embedded. Managers are clear about the impact of changes on the children's progress. They continue to raise standards and drive forward achievements for all children.

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provision

The manager is highly committed to all areas of safeguarding and child protection and is quick to address any concerns through appropriate channels. Staff review safeguarding and welfare requirements routinely in staff meetings. They are also confident in knowing what to do, and who to contact, should they have any concerns about children's safety or well-being. The setting is part of a larger chain of nurseries with robust policies and procedures for vetting, recruiting, and inducting new staff. Managers follow well-defined systems for mentoring, supervising, and appraising staff. This helps to ensure that staff receive the support, guidance, and training they require to strengthen the key person system and advance children's care and learning.

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provision

All mandatory documentation for the safe running of the setting is in place. The managers continue to tighten procedures to ensure all staff adopt the highest standards in keeping the environment safe, secure, and welcoming for children. Senior staff carry out risk assessments across the setting and daily practices include checks to make sure the environment is as safe as possible for children. All staff have current training in paediatric first aid and practise evacuation drills with the children. These currently link with the adjacent children's centre, but staff plan to have additional practises so that all children experience and learn to feel confident when moving out of the building as a group. The setting has written policies and procedures for administering medicines and recording any accidents, incidents, or injuries. Staff add children's names to the parent information board next to daily records of all bumps and bruises to help ensure information is passed

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provision

on to parents promptly. Staff also note when they contact parents by telephone. Staff review the occurrence of any accidents to assess if they can further reduce risks to children.

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provision

Staff work closely with the team at the local children's centre and occasionally use their facilities. Staff at the setting encourage and support families as they discover useful services and guidance at the children's centre. This promotes timely interventions for children and families who could benefit from additional help or who wish to broaden their experiences. Parents commend the new manager and her team for raising the overall quality and standards of the setting, which are now good.

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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 EY430816 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 977478 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 52 Number of children on roll 94 Name of provider Children's Links Date of previous inspection 17/03/2014 Telephone number 01252 343772

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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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