Thorpe Nursery Preschool Ltd

Thorpe Nursery Preschool Ltd Manor Farm House, Coldharbour Lane, Thorpe, Surrey, TW20 8TE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 01/07/2014 17/06/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 1 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

 Staff teach children using a good range of challenging learning experiences, encouraging them to think and be confident as they learn through play.  Children have developed secure attachments with the staff which help them to develop confidence and self-esteem.  Children develop a clear understanding of healthy eating through the provision of healthy and nutritious snacks.  Staff establish good partnerships with parents to meet the children's individual needs. Parents are very happy with the quality of care their children receive.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not consistently interact with children during some outdoor activities. This means they miss opportunities to strengthen children's communication and language skills in this environment.

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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 time observing children, both inside and outside in the garden.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector talked with staff and parents, and held discussions with the management team.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out a joint observation of an activity in the garden with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined documentation including a representative sample of children's records, development plans, policies and staff suitability records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the staff and manager about safeguarding, child protection and the role of the key person.

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Information about the setting

Thorpe Nursery Preschool Ltd registered in 2010 but originally registered at other premises in 1969. It is managed by a company limited by guarantee, and is a registered charity. It operates from two floors within Manor Farm House Thorpe, Surrey. A lift is not available. The pre-school is open each weekday from 8.30am to 3pm during term time. Children have access to a secure garden for outdoor play. There are currently 73 children on roll in the early years age range. The pre-school is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four years. The pre- school staff care for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and also those who learn English as an additional language. It is registered on the Early Years Register. The pre-school employs 10 staff. Of these, eight hold appropriate early years qualifications. This includes two staff members who have Early Years Professional Status

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

 strengthen systems so that all staff make the most of opportunities to interact with children more consistently during outdoor play.

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who attend

Children make good progress across all areas of learning because staff have a strong understanding of their needs. Staff use their teaching skills to promote children's development through group activities and one-to-one experiences. Children are encouraged to contribute to planning and share their interests, to enhance the range of experiences and learning opportunities.

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who attend

Staff extend children's learning well when they ask them what size canister they need for filling the watering can, to water the various flowers and plants. They learn to count and add together small numbers using an outdoor number line. Staff repeat back to children what they have said when children ask questions, modelling correct pronunciation, and drawing children's attention to sounds and letters in a very natural way. This is noted in children's observations and summary assessments. This demonstrates staff's awareness of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage, particularly with regard to the prime areas of development. Areas for development are reflected in the next steps set and noted by the manager when monitoring staff assessment. Staff promote all areas of learning equally. They are currently being supported in further developing their skills and knowledge in completing the progress

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who attend

check for two- year-old children, with one member of staff taking the lead role.

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who attend

The staff provide children with exciting trips, for example, to learn forest school skills, which the children thoroughly enjoy. Children use these skills in the garden as they learn to care for the chickens, their environment and the surrounding areas. Staff draw their attention to butterflies while comparing other insects that children find as they explore. Children are then encouraged to take care of the creatures they see, such as worms, developing a sense of care and responsibility as well as extending their knowledge of the wider world. Staff enable children's independent learning. For example, staff encourage children to think about what they need to gather in response to their requests to make a den. Children develop their negotiating skills and work well together as they gather the tools and equipment they need in their play. Younger children show an interest in water and mud play, and they are absorbed in their play as they investigate in the trays and

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who attend

make handprints and footprints in the mud. Staff talk to children about how the paint added to the water creates different coloured patterns and children have great fun mixing the colours and creating a rainbow. However, this is less well developed when senior staff are not present. Some staff miss opportunities to encourage children to acquire important language and conversational skills as their interactions with children are less positive and mainly directive. As a result, these staff miss opportunities o fully extend children's communication and language skills.

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who attend

Children's imagination and creative development is promoted well. They can choose from a range of art resources in the creative room and use a range of different materials, including paint, glue, clay, and chalks and crayons. Older children access information technology toys, as they can play some educational games using the computer together as they celebrate each other's successes. Staff identify those children who need more specialised support and deliver this through one-to-one sessions. For example, children's key persons carefully extend activities to support children's communication and language skills. They combine activities that support children's pronunciation by helping them to recognise letters, and the sounds they make, as they match written words to pictures and say them out loud. Staff vary the challenge of this activity well, as they progress from children linking words with objects, then pictures and finally the word on its own. Staff

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who attend

also capture children's interests very well as they read stories with expression and imagination. Children take books home to share with their families. Parents comment very favourably about being given suggestions for learning at home, knowing how this supports children in preparing for their move to full time school.

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

Children move freely between the group rooms and the outdoor areas. They cooperate with their friends and are keen to share activities with staff. Children's behaviour is good and their sense of belonging is demonstrated by their familiarity in routines. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of their role in managing children's behaviour appropriately. Their behaviour management strategies help children to feel valued and respected. Children form caring and effective bonds with all the staff, showing that they feel emotionally secure and settled. The provider operates a key-person system and the children are familiar with all of the adults. This contributes to parents' positive comments about feeling that they are leaving their children with staff who 'really know them well'.

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

Staff teach children about how eating well keeps them healthy. Staff support children when they need to change wet clothes after water play and nappies are changed at regular intervals. Staff discuss with children why good hygiene is important so that they understand why they need to take care with hand washing. Visual reminders, such as the signs in the bathrooms and group rooms, promote this understanding well. The majority of staff hold current first-aid qualifications and suitable arrangements are in place for recording and treating any minor accidents or injuries children may have.

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

The designated member of staff with responsibility for the role of special educational needs coordinator works in close partnerships with parents, and any other professionals and settings where necessary. This is to ensure the delivery of an inclusive provision for all children. Children's dietary needs are discussed with parents and staff during settling in and any specific needs are addressed carefully. Children plan and prepare some of their own snacks, selecting the various fruits to cut up and peel.

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

Staff make regular checks to ensure children are safe. Children learn about their own safety, particularly when on outings to specialist activity centres, such as Forest Schools. Risk assessments are reviewed and adapted to ensure children's safety. In the garden, children use a range of toys and tools with developing skill and dexterity, negotiating space and steering equipment, such as bikes, with care. Some children use their critical thinking to solve the problem of climbing on the climbing frame to tie up the large pieces of material to make a den. Staff offer praise at their success, as the children find a way to solve the problems they face by using crates to make a new structure.

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provision

The manager and her staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of child protection and safeguarding issues. They know the signs and symptoms that would give concern, and are confident in the action they would take to report and monitor any concerns about a child in their care. The manager follows the requirements for recruiting and vetting staff, and keeps records of the staffs' suitability, to reassure parents of their children's safety and welfare. The manager and all staff are aware of how their personal conduct may impact on their professional roles with regard to maintaining their suitability. Procedures such as for when staff smoke during their breaks are closely followed and staff use the space at the back of the garden that is out of sight of the nursery. The manager is aware of the steps she would take if she had any concerns about staff conduct or suitability, and this is supported by the clear policies and procedures in place. The manager receives good

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provision

support from the other registered persons on the committee with responsibility for the provision. Risk assessments are carried out daily and staff take suitable steps to reinforce children's safety, particularly when children have handled the chickens or enjoyed the forest school experiences. The thoughtful organisation of indoor and outdoor play spaces, good adult to child ratios and suitable deployment of staff means that children attending the nursery are closely supervised at all times.

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provision

Staff receive appraisals to monitor their practice and identify any training needs, in order to develop the quality of teaching further. Monitoring is effective in ensuring that minor dips in children's attainment are noted and that staff have planned next steps to help children make the best possible progress. Some staff are new in the team and have not yet completed all training to consolidate their practice. The manager has addressed this by planning for appraisals to identify what these staff need in terms of training. The manager offers staff opportunities to maintain their mandatory training, such as first aid and child protection awareness. She has a system that keeps her alert to the expiry dates for staff's first-aid certificates. There are sufficient staff with the qualifications needed to meet requirements and the numbers of children cared for continues to meet the required adult- to-child ratios. The manager is in the process of updating the self-evaluation process by

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provision

including the views of staff, parents, and children. She has identified some improvements, such as meeting the recommendation set at the last inspection, to develop opportunities for children to be involved in more activities in the community.

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provision

The manager and staff have developed strong partnerships with parents, and other settings children attend, to promote consistency in children's care, learning, and development. This supports children in their transition through to the next stage in their early education. Detailed information is sought from parents before children start and settling in arrangements are tailored to each individual child, to ensure that this a smooth and positive experience. Parents comment how much they appreciate the professional skills of the staff and the wealth of experiences their children have at this nursery. Parents are very appreciative about the flexibility of the provision. They are grateful for the active play that children can engage in, exploring in the vast open space of the garden, as they enjoy the learning experiences offered.

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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 EY409031 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 979825 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 73 Name of provider Thorpe Nursery Preschool Ltd Date of previous inspection 17/06/2013 Telephone number 01932 569 592

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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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