Wise Owl Nursery

Wise Owl Nursery 143 Ash Bank Road, STOKE-ON-TRENT, ST2 9DX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 27/06/2014 05/12/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 3 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 All staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of child protection procedures. Consequently, systems are in place to ensure that children are sufficiently safeguarded.  Secure attachments with key persons and staff ensure children's emotional well-being is met. As a result, there is sound partnership working with parents and the transition from home to the nursery is positive.  Children enjoy the stimulating environment. There is a wide range of resources and facilities, which children are keen to explore and investigate.

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It is not yet good because

 Observations and assessments of children are not always carried out frequently enough or monitored consistently. This means that gaps in children's learning and development are not promptly identified or targeted to ensure they make good progress.  The monitoring of staff's knowledge, understanding and performance is not fully effective. Consequently, teaching practice is variable across the nursery.  The timing of some mealtimes do not effectively promote children's health and physical well-being.

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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 activities and spoke to staff and children in the indoor and outdoor environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with the children, the provider's self-evaluation form and improvement plan.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with management and looked at and discussed a range of policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a selection of children's assessment files and progress tracking information and spoke to the key persons.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Wise Owl Nursery re-registered in 2012 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is privately owned and operates from a two-storey building in Werrington, Stoke on Trent. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is open all year round, Monday to Friday, from 7am to 6pm, except for bank holidays. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 65 children on roll, of whom 61 are in the early years age group. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. There are currently 11 staff working directly with the children, who all have an appropriate early years qualification. Of these, two have Early Years Professional status, eight hold early years qualifications at level 3 and one is qualified at level 2. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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must:

 improve the effectiveness of observation and assessment by developing staff knowledge of how to complete observations of children and use these consistently to identify children's stages of development to target their next steps, so they make good progress in every area of learning.

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

 review and evaluate procedures for monitoring staff performance to ensure all staff have appropriate training, skills and knowledge to fulfil their roles and responsibilities

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

 meet the individual needs of children, with regard to meals and snacks, by offering extra snacks, particularly where children have missed or had breakfast very early.

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who attend

Overall, most staff have an appropriate understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They use this knowledge to provide children with a stimulating environment, which has a wide variety of resources that children can freely access. Some staff are enthusiastic and eager to promote children's learning. However, this can sometimes result in a rushed delivery of activities and stories, which are difficult to follow. As a result, teaching is varied throughout the nursery and does not always fully promote children's learning and development. However, children are acquiring the basic skills they need for school or their next stage of learning. For example, they learn to follow rules in the nursery, such as helping to tidy away toys and sitting cooperatively during story time. Children enjoy some activities, such as exploring sand and singing songs. Staff encourage children's communication skills. They model language

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who attend

during their activities without discouraging children's efforts as they copy new words. This enables all children to use their growing language skills with confidence. As a result, children are making some progress in their development.

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who attend

Staff compile individual folders for children, which contain artwork and comments regarding their daily activities. However, observations of children's learning are not always carried out on a regular basis and do not capture children's development across all seven areas of learning. Some staff do not effectively use their knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage to link observations and assessments of children's learning to the appropriate stages of development. This means that staff are not always aware of any gaps in children's development and therefore, do not plan to target these. Staff have a suitable understanding of the requirements of the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years, to ensure that they and other professionals have the necessary information to arrange appropriate support if necessary.

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who attend

Staff strive to form effective partnerships with parents. They obtain information about children's learning from parents on entry about what their child can do at home. This information is used by staff to plan activities, which are of interest to children. Parents are kept informed of children's daily activities through detailed conversations with staff. This helps parents to be involved in some aspects of their children's learning.

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

Children are provided with a warm and welcoming environment. This helps them to develop positive relationships with staff and their key person. As a result, children settle quickly and feel a sense of belonging. Effective settling-in procedures for children are in place and visits are negotiated between parents and staff to meet individual family needs and they discuss care arrangements. This promotes children's move from home as staff gather information from parents about their children's individual needs. An effective key- person system is in place to ensure that children's needs are met. Parents know who to approach if they have a concern about their children. They are complimentary about the 'warm and friendly staff' and are happy with the care provided. Staff know children well and children feel safe and secure spending time with them. Younger children feel a strong sense of security, evidenced by their close interactions with staff. For example, they

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

cuddle up to staff and are rewarded with smiles and encouraging words. As a result, children's emotional well-being is suitably promoted.

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

Staff remind children to use good manners and to be kind and considerate to each other. They encourage children to say please and thank you at mealtimes and ensure children understand the rules for being together, such as turn taking. Consequently, children are courteous and well behaved. Staff praise children's efforts and ensure children are given clear boundaries and as a result, children understand what is expected of them. Children play very well together and share toys and the varied range of resources. Children are developing attitudes to prepare them for their future learning. Staff teach children to manage their own safety, for instance, they remind children to be careful when using new equipment.

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

The outdoor area and facilities provide regular opportunities for children to access fresh air and physical exercise on a daily basis. This helps to promote children's physical well- being. Children are supported in keeping themselves healthy by learning to address their own personal needs. For example, they are encouraged to wash their hands before meals and after toileting. The nursery has a cook who prepares freshly cooked meals on a daily basis. The menu is varied and appetising, providing children with a balanced diet. The management have made some changes to the timings of mealtimes since the last inspection. The timing of mealtimes has been changed since the last inspection, and most children are offered at least three meals during the day. However, staff are less vigilant at noticing children who may have had breakfast very early or not at all, and then offering something further before lunch time. Consequently, for a few children, their health and

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

physical well-being is not fully promoted.

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provision

Management have an appropriate knowledge and understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Good recruitment and vetting procedures help to ensure all adults are suitable to work with children. All visitors are required to show identification and sign in and out of the visitors' book to ensure that a full and accurate record of everyone in contact with children is in place. Staff are qualified, experienced and ensure children are properly supervised at all times. Risk assessments are carried out and supplemented by visual safety checks on a daily basis; this ensures effective measures are in place to eliminate hazards to children. Staff are aware of their role and responsibilities in protecting children from abuse. The designated member of staff has attended relevant training and has a sound understanding of how to protect children from harm. This enables her to provide support and guidance to

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provision

other staff to implement procedures correctly. As a result, children's safety is well promoted in the nursery.

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provision

Most of the recommendations from the previous inspection have been addressed. Management have reviewed mealtimes and organised new routines for children's meals. However, these are not yet successful in ensuring that meals are offered promptly. Staff are appropriately qualified for their roles. However, there is some inconsistency in the quality of teaching across the nursery. For example, some staff are over exuberant in their approach to teaching, which results in some children not being able to join in with planned activities as the delivery of these are rushed. Despite having in-house training, some members of staff are unclear about the areas of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The manager carries out six-weekly supervisions of staff, but does not consistently monitor all staff's knowledge and understanding or performance to ensure this is fully effective. Consequently, teaching practice is variable across the nursery.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are well promoted. Staff liaise with parents on a daily basis to inform them of activities and observations noted. There is a self-evaluation system in place. Management seek the views of staff, parents and children to continually improve the provision. For example, an audit of resources has been carried out, which has resulted in purchases of new equipment to enhance children's learning experiences. This demonstrates how management are committed to improving their provision to ensure children's needs are fully met. Links with other agencies, such as the local authority, are established and accessed as required to support children's needs.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Requires improvement The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected within twelve months of the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement action. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of

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Grade Judgement Description

the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY460575 Local authority Staffordshire Inspection number 962578 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 74 Number of children on roll 65 Name of provider Wiseowl Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection 05/12/2013 Telephone number 01782 303960

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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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