Martenscroft Nursery School and Sure Start Children's Centre

Martenscroft Nursery School and Sure Start Children's Centre Martenscroft School, 33 Epping Street, MANCHESTER, Lancashire, M15 6PA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/07/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

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

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This provision is outstanding

 Staff have an exceptional knowledge of how children learn and provide a rich, varied and imaginative educational programme, with precise assessment and planning for individual children. As a result, children make rapid progress in their learning and development in relation to their starting points.  Key persons are highly skilled and sensitive and help children form secure emotional attachments and feel very secure within the environment. They have a superb knowledge and understanding of the children that they care for and skilfully support them in their next steps in learning.  Staff demonstrate an excellent understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The thorough implementation of robust policies and detailed procedures successfully promotes children's safety and well-being.  Partnerships with parents, other early years providers and external professionals and

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This provision is outstanding

agencies are exemplary and make a significant contribution to meeting the needs of all children to ensure no child is disadvantaged.  Self-evaluation systems are thorough and take into account the views of staff, children and parents. This ensures that strengths and weaknesses are effectively identified and addressed and plans for improvement are well targeted and achievable.

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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 children's activities in all playrooms and the outdoor environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the manager and talked to children, staff and key persons throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at various documents, including a sample of policies and procedures, children's records, evidence of the suitability of staff and recruitment procedures.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day of the inspection and from written feedback questionnaires.

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Information about the setting

Martenscroft Nursery School and Sure Start Children's Centre was registered in 2005. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register and is managed by a governing body. The nursery operates from three rooms in a one-storey renovated building in Hulme, Manchester. It is open five days a week, all year round from 7.45am to 5.45pm. The nursery also offers care for children who attend the on-site nursery school before and after school and during school holidays. A creche facility is available and opening times are variable in line with the needs of families. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 65 children on roll, all of whom are within the early years age group. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early years education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children

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Information about the setting

with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The nursery employs a total of 16 childcare staff, all of whom have an appropriate early years qualification. One member of staff holds a qualification at level 4, 10 hold a qualification at level 3, and three hold an appropriate qualification at level 2. The headteacher and deputy headteacher make up the senior management team and both hold Qualified Teacher Status.

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

 consider using photographs of family and significant people and places in children's lives to further enhance the settling-in process and as children prepare for new experiences.

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who attend

Babies and children thrive and are highly motivated to learn as they participate in extremely challenging activities designed to capture their imagination and interests in this high quality nursery. As a result, they consistently demonstrate the characteristics of effective learning. The environment, both indoors and outdoors, is extremely well resourced and organised into areas of continuous provision, which support children's sense of curiosity and their natural desire to explore and investigate. For example, babies have a wonderful time as they explore oats, sand and water that they enjoy mixing together. Older children squeal with excitement as they explore the 'beach' outdoors as they feel the texture of sand on their feet and splash around in the water. Teaching techniques are consistently very strong across the nursery. Plans link to children's individual interests and are flexible to take account of their spontaneous ideas. As a result,

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who attend

children make rapid progress in relation to their starting points. Staff are committed to providing children with opportunities to play outside as they fully understand how important outdoor learning is for very young children. The provision of all-weather suits and shade from the sun means that children benefit hugely from first-hand experiences of the weather and seasons. Furthermore, the design of the building means that babies and can access the outdoor environment whenever they want to throughout the day.

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who attend

There is an extremely sharp focus on helping children to acquire communication and language skills and supporting their physical, personal, social and emotional development. As a result, children are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage in their learning and eventually, school. For example, staff teach children to interact with adults and each other as they socialise at mealtimes and cooperate as they play. Children learn to share and take turns as they participate in group activities, such as singing number rhymes and cutting up fruit. Communication and language development is supported exceptionally well by the knowledgeable and experienced staff team. For example, children listen attentively to staff and confidently participate in conversations with other children. Staff skilfully ask open-ended questions, use running commentaries and introduce new words to extend children's vocabulary. Furthermore, the highly effective use of props, puppets, signs and

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who attend

symbols significantly enhances children's understanding and brings rhymes, songs and stories to life. As a result, children are extremely confident communicators. Children are provided with a wealth of opportunities to develop their physical skills. For example, babies have space indoors to move, crawl, roll and cruise along furniture. Older children demonstrate their large muscle control and coordination as they confidently use large climbing equipment, balance along wooden structures and expertly manoeuvre bicycles around the road track. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are exceptionally well supported by staff who have an expert understanding of their individual needs. Staff confidently develop individual education plans, together with parents and external professionals to set realistic targets to help children progress and reach their full potential. This demonstrates how the nursery is working to close the achievement gap.

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who attend

Children who speak English as an additional language are extremely well supported because staff find out and use key words and phrases in their home language to fully extend their understanding of English.

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who attend

Staff complete purposeful, accurate and precise observations and assessments that highlight children's individual interests and preferred learning styles. This information is used superbly in conjunction with their home experiences and translated into individualised planning that clearly identifies each child's next steps in learning. Children's learning journals illustrate the rapid improvement in their learning. These are maintained to an exceptionally high standard, detailing photographs of the children involved in a variety of activities, their artwork and regular observations which are clearly linked to the seven areas of learning. Children play a dynamic role in their own learning and their thoughts and suggestions are taken into account by staff for future planning. A robust system is in place for tracking children's learning and progress. As a result, children who are at risk of falling below their expected levels of development are identified quickly. This

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who attend

ensures they receive targeted support and appropriate intervention if necessary. Staff value input from parents and work closely with them from the point of entry. They obtain detailed information to find out what children can do and use this information together with their own observations to identify children's starting points. The whole ethos of the nursery is based around an holistic approach to teaching and learning and caring for children. Staff strive to find creative ways to engage parents in their children's learning and participate in nursery life. For example, they deliver practical training sessions and workshops to inform parents about how the experiences and activities the nursery provides support children's learning. For instance, they talk to parents about the value of mud kitchens and the benefits of outdoor play. Staff provide opportunities for parents to share home observations to add to children's learning records and talk to them on a daily

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who attend

basis about what their children have achieved in the nursery. They offer parents suggestions about how they can help support their children's learning and resources are available for them to borrow to share with their children at home. This provides excellent continuity for children. Parents are kept fully informed of their children's progress through regular daily conversations and parents' meetings held twice a year. Children learn about the next phase in their learning through discussions, activities and visits to the nursery school that take place over the space of a term. Furthermore, the introduction of music sessions in the hall and the use of the nursery school library ensures that children are familiar with the new environment. Transfer documents are completed to ensure that teachers are fully informed of children's stage of development and know out about their likes, dislikes and interests from comments made by key persons. These highly successful

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who attend

strategies in shared learning means that children experience consistency of care and learning to maximum effect.

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

The exceptionally well-established key-person system enables children to form strong, close emotional attachments, which makes children feel safe and secure. Staff's knowledge of their key children and their commitment to nurturing the well-being of every child in their care is phenomenal. This successfully promotes children's developing independence and exploration. Staff respect and value children as individuals and key persons immediately respond to their physical and emotional needs to ensure they remain content and comfortable. Babies actively seek out their key person for comfort and cuddles when they need reassurance, are tired, hungry or have just woken up from their afternoon nap. Key persons are always close by and respond quickly and sensitively to children's individual needs to ensure they are comfortable at all times. Children are happy and well settled in the nursery because staff have an excellent understanding of their

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

needs through information provided by parents on entry. Babies each have their own comforters and favourite toys that they bring with them and use them when they have their afternoon nap. However, the nursery has not yet fully considered using photographs of significant people and places in children's lives to help them prepare for new experiences and further enhance the settling-in process. There are excellent systems in place to support children as they move rooms within the nursery. For example, learning records are shared with the new key person and taster visits are organised, which promote a highly effective and seamless process. These arrangements in place are extremely flexible and well planned in consultation with parents based firmly on the individual developmental needs of each child. This means that children settle quickly into the new environment and routines, quickly build positive relationships with staff and

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

Staff provide children with a wide variety of nutritious snacks and meals which are carefully planned to ensure they access a healthy balanced diet. Children's knowledge and understanding of good eating habits is further enriched because staff talk to them about healthy foods that give them energy to run around and help their bodies grow. Information is gathered from parents on entry about children's specific nutritional requirements and allergies to ensure that each child's individual dietary needs are met. Children develop an extremely good understanding of their own self-care and the importance of good hygiene routines. Staff consistently supervise children as they use the bathroom and encourage them to be independent, while at the same time stay close by to help and support them if needed. Children demonstrate high levels of independence when managing their own personal care needs, such as washing their hands, serving themselves

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

at mealtimes and clearing and setting the tables. They eagerly offer to wipe the tables, give out food to other children and carry plates to the trolley after lunch. Staff promote good health and well-being in a variety of different ways. For example, all babies and children have easy access to outdoor provision where they enjoy the benefits of physical exercise and fresh air. In addition, children independently access quiet, cosy areas where they can rest and relax and play quietly. As a result, children's all-round physical and emotional well-being is exceptionally well promoted, which in turn has a significant impact on their learning and development.

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

Children learn about expected levels of behaviour from the very positive role modelling of staff and from each other. Their behaviour is exemplary because staff provide them with clear and consistent boundaries and help them to learn to manage their own feelings. They are involved in nursery rules and know to be kind to each other. Any minor incidents of inappropriate behaviour are managed calmly and sensitively. Staff are kind and caring and get down to children's level to talk to them about how their behaviour affects others and help them to think of ways to resolve the situation. They consistently give the highest priority to the safety of children and effectively support them to develop their understanding of how to keep themselves safe. Children demonstrate their understanding as they explain that they 'have to be careful with knives because they are sharp'. Staff ensure that children are able to manage their own risks by providing them with the

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

opportunities and freedom to take controlled risks as they play outdoors. This, combined with the staff's excellent support, helps build children's self-esteem and develop a 'can do' attitude in readiness for school.

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provision

Safeguarding is outstanding because staff have an extremely secure knowledge and understanding of how to protect and safeguard all children. Thorough and regularly updated safeguarding policies and procedures are known by staff and underpin the excellent practice. Staff have an excellent knowledge of the signs and symptoms of abuse and procedures to follow in the event of a child protection concern. Robust recruitment and vetting systems ensure all adults working with children are suitable to do so. There are highly effective systems in place to monitor staff's ongoing suitability and regular observations from the managers ensure that their practice consistently maintains children's safety and well-being. Extremely rigorous risk assessments for all areas of the premises and outings, daily checks of indoor and outdoor environment and consistent maintenance of toys and equipment ensure that children can play and learn in safety.

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provision

Staff place a high priority on keeping children safe at all times. They adopt vigilant security measures, such as the vetting of visitors; signing in and out sheets and keypad locks on doors to ensure children are protected from unwanted visitors and cannot leave the building unsupervised. Children are closely supervised and ratios are met at all times. Staff are extremely well deployed to enable children to move safety and freely between the indoor and outdoor environments.

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provision

The extensive knowledge of staff, continual professional development training and liaison with a wide range of professionals means that the Early Years Foundation Stage is superbly embedded in practice. Recent additional training, such as 'Being Two' and 'Mud kitchens' have had a huge impact on the quality of teaching and learning. Peer observations are consistently undertaken to help staff to share their knowledge and expertise and learn from each other, which ultimately enhances the quality of teaching and learning. The nursery promotes a culture of mentoring and coaching to enable staff to continue to develop their knowledge and progress in their roles as early years practitioners. As a result, learning outcomes for children are excellent. Leadership is inspirational and the robust process of self-evaluation is highly effective and ensures that the nursery continues to improve. Staff reflect on their practice on a daily basis and the

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provision

environment and resources are continually adapted to ensure they meet the individual needs of the children attending. Senior managers observe the environment and staff interactions as they carry out 'learning walks' within the nursery. This is so that they can identify areas for development and make sure that opportunities for teaching and learning learning are of the highest standard. Furthermore, the nursery is involved with the local authority quality assessment framework, which staff use as a tool to self-reflect on their practice and the service they provide. Children and parents are fully involved in the process and their views and ideas are actively listened and responded to. Systems for monitoring educational programmes, individual planning and assessment are highly effective, so that children receive a rich and varied learning experience based on their individual needs. The rigorous and highly effective procedures in place for monitoring all

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provision

children's progress, and the subsequent analysis of the data, ensure that any gaps in learning are quickly identified. Consequently, additional support is put in place where necessary, children can achieve their full potential and the achievement gap is narrowing.

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provision

Highly effective partnerships with parents and other early years providers ensure that children's needs are quickly identified and exceptionally well met. Children who require the involvement of external professionals are supported by staff at the highest level because of their outstanding understanding of the importance of partnership working. Extremely close links with outside agencies and settings to support children's individual needs are exemplary, including when children move on to school. Parents are highly complimentary about the nursery and the care their children receive. They comment that staff are approachable, helpful and friendly and that they are welcomed into the nursery. Parents recognise that children have lots of opportunities to learn through playing and having fun. They comment that they know their children are happy and safe and appreciate the wide range of information they receive about children's learning and the progress they make.

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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. Inspection report: Martenscroft Nursery School and Sure Start Children's Centre, 28/07/2014 10 of 12

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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 EY294455 Local authority Manchester Inspection number 820120

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 142 Number of children on roll 65 Name of provider Martenscroft Nursery School and Sure Start Children's Centre Governing Body Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 0161 226 1266

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Type of provision

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 Inspection report: Martenscroft Nursery School and Sure Start Children's Centre, 28/07/2014 11 of 12

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Type of provision

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. Inspection report: Martenscroft Nursery School and Sure Start Children's Centre, 28/07/2014 12 of 12

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Type of provision

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, safeguarding and child protection.

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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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