Avenue Nursery & Forest School Limited

Avenue Nursery School LTD Parklife, Kings Road, Herne Bay, Kent, CT6 5RE

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16/07/2014 10/07/2009

p.1

early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

p.1

This provision is outstanding

 Children are extremely motivated learners and make exceptionally good progress due to first class teaching practices used by all staff.  Staff provide a fully inclusive environment which celebrates the individuality of children and staff.  Highly effective team working creates a harmonious atmosphere in which children learn excellent social skills and behave very well.  Staff promote children's health and well-being exceptionally well.  Strong partnership working with parents and other professionals involved in children's lives helps staff to provide consistent and cohesive care.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed all areas of the nursery.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the providers, manager, staff, children and parents during the inspection.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the interaction of staff and children during a range of activities.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed a selection of documents including children's developmental records.

p.2

Information about the setting

Avenue Nursery School Ltd has been registered since 1974 and has been operating from its current premises since 2009. It operates from a children's centre in Herne Bay, Kent. There nursery has sole time use of one group room and part-time use of a second room which is shared with the children's centre. All children have access to secure outdoor play areas.

p.3

Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. It opens from 8am to 6pm each weekday for 48 weeks each year. The nursery closes for the last two weeks of August, a week over Christmas and a week at Easter. There currently 82 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age group. The nursery is able to support children who speak English as an additional language as well as those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

p.3

Information about the setting

There are 13 staff employed to work with the children, 12 of whom hold relevant early years qualifications. The manager is an Early Years Professional. There is also a cook and an administrator.

p.3

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

 extend further opportunities for children to learn about safety by involving them in the risk assessment process and daily safety checks.

p.3

who attend

Children flourish in all areas of their development as a result of outstanding educational programmes and consistently excellent teaching. Precise and accurate assessment enables staff to develop a thorough understanding of each child's individual interests, abilities and learning styles. They use their knowledge of each child to plan activities which very successfully capture children's interest and which offer the appropriate level of challenge. For example, children recently arrived at nursery to discover a smattering of fairy dust and a letter left overnight by the leader of the fairies. This explained that the fairies' homes had been washed away in the recent rains and asked the children if they would build some new houses in the nursery garden. This was very effective in igniting children's imagination. Each day they excitedly check the bright, sparkly, fairy-sized houses they have made, searching for notes which are left when a fairy has enjoyed a good nights

p.3

who attend

sleep. A similarly inspiring activity recently took place based around many children's love of superheroes. This involved visits from a popular cartoon superhero planned over several days to ensure that all children had an opportunity to meet him. Children who do not normally show an interest in writing activities concentrated well on their contributions to an album of writing and drawings created as a gift for the superhero. The letter of thanks they received delighted them.

p.3

who attend

Staff very skilfully extend children's communication and language by using clear and appropriate strategies. They monitor children's individual language development closely. This allows them to support them well to gain the confidence to speak out in small group situations and then in front of larger groups. Staff listen with genuine interest to the things children say and ask open-ended questions which encourage them to continue speaking. As a result, many lively, interesting and often humorous conversations can be heard throughout the nursery. Children receive equally strong support to develop their physical skills. Staff recognise when children need greater challenge and provide them with very regular activities to explore a broad range of physical skills including climbing. As a result, children enjoy practising a broad range of skills and move with control and coordination.

p.4

who attend

Staff plan experiences specifically aimed at extending children's understanding of the world. These include train and bus journeys to locations such as the beach and animal sanctuaries. There are also nursery pets, which allow children to observe the life cycles of creatures such as guinea pigs and newts. Children also regularly take part in activities and events to raise money for a number of different charities. This helps them to gain an understanding of the lives and difficulties of others and to develop a sense of social responsibility.

p.4

who attend

Recent, well-targeted, improvements are having a very positive impact on the arrangements to involve parents in their child's learning. Staff complete the required progress checks for two-year-old children and share these effectively with parents. In addition, they meet regularly with parents to discuss their child's progress and to identify future learning goals.

p.4

who attend

There are excellent procedures to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. In addition, staff go to great lengths to ensure that they positively reflect the languages spoken in each child's home. They learn key words and phrases in children's home languages to communicate with them as they settle into the nursery. Staff also use books and songs which reflect a variety of languages to enable children to begin to understand the skills required to speak more than one language.

p.4

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

Children are extremely happy and staff meet their emotional and care needs exceptionally well. Highly effective key-person arrangements result in children forming trusting bonds with staff. This helps them to develop a strong sense of security. Children receive clear and appropriate messages to help them consider their personal safety both in the nursery and on outings. They learn practical skills such as how to cross roads and have opportunities to begin to take some risks in carefully managed situations. Although children demonstrate very safe, sensible behaviour, they do not take an active role in assessing risks or safety checks within the nursery.

p.4

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

Children behave exceptionally well due to the excellent role modelling of staff and their caring and supportive interaction. Children approach staff eagerly for attention, excitedly sharing their news from home, expressing their ideas and showing pride in their achievements. Staff use superb strategies to promote children's self-esteem and to help them develop confidence and good social skills. In preparation for a sports day, staff plan a range of activities which involve an element of friendly competition. The aim of this is to help children to cope emotionally if they do not win. For example, staff organise a construction challenge and identify which model house is the best. Staff handle this sensitively providing praise for all children and celebrating their individual efforts.

p.5

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

Children confidently explore a superb range of resources which significantly enhance their learning and enjoyment. They know where to find the toys and equipment they want to play with and are free to transport these around the nursery to extend their games. The organisation of the environment, both indoors and outside is extremely inspiring. Displays celebrate children's creativity and there are several cosy areas for children who want to relax.

p.5

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

Staff prioritise children's health extremely well. They provide a clean environment and teach children about the importance of good personal hygiene. Children mimic the good practices they observe from staff during games such as changing the nappies on baby dolls. Children spend a lot of time playing outside in the fresh air. A cook provides nutritious, tasty and very popular snacks and meals on site. These reflect the individual dietary requirements of each child.

p.5

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

Staff prepare children extraordinarily well for changes, including their move to school. They carefully manage the progress of children throughout the nursery so that they experience small degrees of change in a safe environment. In the weeks before children are moving on to school, nursery staff alter the lunch arrangements so they more closely reflect those in school dinner halls. This includes encouraging children to queue to collect their food independently. Staff liaise closely with parents and school staff to ease the move for each individual child. Where necessary, staff visit schools to meet with reception teachers and specialists to discuss children's individual needs.

p.5

provision

The leadership and management within the nursery are outstanding. This, along with excellent team working, results in a service which is constantly evolving to reflect the needs of children and their families. All staff understand their combined and individual responsibility to promote children's learning and development and do this exceptionally well. Precise monitoring of educational programmes helps the manager to identify areas for further focus. In addition, highly effective self-evaluation takes into account the views of staff, parents and children. This results in the accurate identification of the significant strengths of the nursery as well as any areas where there is room for improvement. The provider maintains all required documentation for the safe and efficient running of the nursery. In addition, the arrangements to respond to complaints are entirely appropriate.

p.5

provision

There are extremely robust arrangements to protect children. Staffing ratios are high, particularly on outings, and staff competently undertake risk assessments which reflect the individual needs and behaviours of children. The manager takes the leading role in safeguarding within the nursery. She has attended training for this role and has an excellent knowledge of the procedures to follow should concerns arise about the welfare of any child. She is also fully aware of the process for responding to an allegation against a member of staff, including liaising with appropriate agencies and the regulator. The manager works closely with staff to ensure that they are fully aware of their responsibilities to protect children. She discusses safeguarding issues with them regularly in order to ensure they maintain an up to date knowledge of relevant issues. Vigorous checking takes place to ensure staff suitability. In addition, the manager regularly meets

p.6

provision

with staff members to offer supervision in order to support their professional development and to promote consistency.

p.6

provision

Partnership working with other professionals is extremely effective. This ensures that children receive care which is cohesive and carefully coordinated to reflect their individual needs. Children benefit from observing the friendly, positive exchanges between their parents and the staff. Parents spoken to during the inspection expressed complete satisfaction with the quality of the service they receive. They are vocal in their praise of staff and feel that their children are thriving in the nursery.

p.6

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

p.7

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.

p.7

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.

p.8

Setting details

Unique reference number EY386830 Local authority Kent Inspection number 981608 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 6 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 82 Name of provider Avenue Nursery School LTD Date of previous inspection 10/07/2009 Telephone number 01227 289 346

p.8

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.

p.8

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

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,

p.9

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’.

p.10

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10