Children 1st @ Grantham

Children 1st @ Grantham 100 Trent Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 7XQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/08/2014 26/11/2013

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early years provision

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

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This provision is outstanding

 Highly effective teaching by skilled and dedicated staff ensures that all children make outstanding progress in their learning and development.  Robust and extremely effective processes for managing the nursery's performance are securely embedded in practice. As a result, leaders have a very accurate overview of the quality of teaching and the progress all children are making. They swiftly and robustly tackle any underperformance.  Staff are managed exceptionally well. Regular supervision and excellent professional development secures high quality teaching and learning opportunities for all children.  Staff and leaders work tirelessly to secure outstanding partnerships with parents and a wide range of professionals. As a result, they know every child extremely well and together support all children, including those with starting points below those expected for their age, to make exceptional progress.

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This provision is outstanding

 The safety and welfare of children and families is given utmost priority. Excellent information sharing between key professionals and the nursery enables appropriate interventions to be swiftly accessed to support and safeguard children and their families.

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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 in the eight play rooms and the outside learning environment.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector held meetings with the leadership team.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation and talked these through with staff.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day and from information included in the setting's own parents' survey.

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Information about the setting

Children 1st @ Grantham is one of 18 privately owned nurseries. It operates from a one- storey purpose-built premises, next door to Swingbridge Children's Centre, in the South Kesteven area of Grantham. Children are cared for in eight rooms, each have their own outdoor play area. In addition, there is a central, shared decked area.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6.30pm, 51 weeks of the year. There are currently 188 children on roll in the early years age range. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children and is the linked early years provision for Swingbridge Children's Centre. It serves the local and wider community.

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Information about the setting

The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. There are currently 20 staff working directly with children. Of these 14 hold early years qualifications at level 3 and above. The manager is qualified to degree level and holds Qualified Teacher Status.

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

 continue to support the professional development of less experienced staff to secure even more inspirational teaching.

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who attend

The nursery provides a highly stimulating, safe and extremely well-maintained environment for children to play and learn. It has been thoughtfully designed to ensure children can safely and freely access high quality resources which challenge children to explore, investigate and take safe risks. As a result, children lead and direct their own play and learning, both indoors and outdoors, and develop high levels of confidence and independence.

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who attend

Staff astutely observe children, on an ongoing basis. They demonstrate an excellent knowledge and understanding of each child's stage of development, their interests and what motivates their learning. Using what they know about the children, staff plan exciting and challenging play and learning experiences for each child that build on their prior learning. Staff use their highly effective teaching skills to provide exceptional learning opportunities that challenge and support all children to make the maximum progress possible, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those at risk of not achieving as well as their peers. Less experienced staff are provided with excellent opportunities to learn from highly skilled early years practitioners who deliver exceptional and inspirational teaching.

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who attend

Children are motivated to learn and all are actively engaged in their play and learning. Staff skilfully follow the children's lead, providing prompts and suggestions when needed to extend learning further. Children are given time to think through their ideas before staff provide additional, well thought through suggestions and questions which challenge children's thinking to very high levels. As a result, children are confident, capable and keen to have a go and are well-prepared to continue to achieve well at school.

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

Staff take time to establish positive relationships with families. They gather a range of meaningful information from parents about their children when they start and throughout their time at the nursery. As a result, staff and leaders know the children and their families extremely well and are highly sensitive to their circumstances and needs. They work closely with parents and other professionals to identify where any additional support and intervention may be required. Together they agree successful routines and strategies which effectively promote children’s learning, development, safety and well-being. This strong partnership working also enables staff to provide personalised support which help babies and children new to the setting to swiftly settle-in and form secure emotional attachments with their key person.

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

All children are extremely happy, settled and enjoy the company of the staff and other children due to exceptional provision to promote children's personal, social and emotional development. They are very well behaved; older children play harmoniously with their peers and younger children are learning to share and take-turns. Babies and young children are confident to interact with unfamiliar adults and older children confidently ask visitors questions such as 'Who are you?', 'What's your name?' and invite them to join in with nursery activities such as their sports day.

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

Staff promote children's independence extremely well. Children are supported to take care of their own personal care needs as appropriate for their age and stage of development. For example, toddlers correctly select their shoes and attempt to put them on as they know they need their shoes on to go outside. During mealtimes, older children serve themselves and show great independence as they pour their own drinks and clear their plates, in readiness for the routines awaiting them at school. Menus on the tables and planned activities such as group games that involve children guessing what is for tea by identifying the ingredients, promote children's understanding of a healthy diet. Children also enjoy selecting a healthy snack from reception when they arrive and leave.

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

Staff work very well with schools children move on to. Excellent transition arrangements help children to settle quickly into school life and provide teachers with a secure understanding of each child's needs, interests and stages of development to support their on-going progress.

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provision

Leaders have an exceptional knowledge of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Robust and embedded practices, policies and procedures ensure the safety of the children and staff and the smooth running of the nursery. The thoughtfully planned layout of the premises promotes the safety and welfare of children exceptionally well. Open plan arrangements ensure staff can call to one another if they need help and staff can be seen by others at all times. Staff are very well deployed to promote the safety of children at all times. There is always at least one member of staff with current first aid training on duty in each room. First aid training is provided in-house and so can be tailored to the needs of the staff.

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provision

Extremely strong partnership working is in place to ensure that children who require additional support and intervention are effectively supported by a range of professionals so that they make the best possible progress. Staff work extremely hard to successfully engage with parents and establish positive relationships with them. As a result, parents, including those who speak English as an additional language and those with low literacy skills, are fully involved in their child's learning and development, both at the setting and at home. Regular feedback is sought from parents through a wide range of strategies including comment boxes, parent questionnaires and daily discussions. Results show that parents rate the nursery very highly. They particularly value the open plan layout and space for children. They speak very fondly of the staff, particularly their child's key person. Parents confirm that staff are 'friendly and professional', 'provide the best care for my

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provision

child' and 'go above and beyond what is expected'.

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provision

Self-evaluation is robust and embedded in practice. Leaders and staff constantly reflect on what they do to identify how they could be even better. Together they set aspirational goals to achieve exemplary standards. They ensure best practice is shared through regular team meetings and joint training sessions with, and visits to, other nurseries owned by the same provider. Leaders have a clear commitment to supporting and encouraging all staff to develop their professional skills and expertise. Excellent opportunities for staff to receive coaching and mentoring and access training and additional qualifications are provided.

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provision

Systems are very well established to monitor the quality of planning and assessments of children's starting points and on-going progress. A superb cohort tracker has been developed to track the progress of groups of children, identify any gaps in their learning and target accordingly. Consequently, leaders have a robust and accurate overview of the quality of the provision and how well all children are learning and making progress.

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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. We re-inspect nurseries and pre-schools judged as requires improvement within 12 months of the date of 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

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Grade Judgement Description

is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. Met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. 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 EY348009 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 984632

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 4 Total number of places 112 Number of children on roll 188 Name of provider Breedon House Nurseries Limited Date of previous inspection 26/11/2013 Telephone number 01476 573 188

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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 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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