Winston's Place at Wirral Christian Centre

Winston's Place at Wirral Christian Centre Woodchurch Road, Birkenhead, WIRRAL, CH41 2UE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/05/2014 17/09/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 The quality of teaching is good. Staff have a secure knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and recognise the importance of planning for children's interests and development. As a result, children are active learners and enjoy their sessions.  Children settle well and build strong emotional bonds with staff because there is an effective key person system in place throughout the nursery. This ensures that children are well supported in their learning and development.  Staff give high priority to children's language and communication skills, and their physical, personal, social and emotional development. Consequently, all children make good progress from their starting points.  Strong partnerships with parents and other professionals involved with the children ensure that all individual needs are very well met, and parents are active partners in their children's learning and development.  Strong leadership and management, effective self-evaluation and a supportive team

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This provision is good

ensures that the nursery has a strong capacity to improve it's already good provision.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Occasionally, opportunities to extend children's growing independence are not fully explored.

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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 viewed all areas of the premises used for children, both indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector monitored hygiene practices and observed activities in all of the playrooms and the outside play area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the management team, completed a joint observation with the manager, and spoke with individual staff and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector considered a variety of documantation including children's assessment and planning records, evidence of suitability of staff working in the nursery, the provider's self-evaluation form, and a range of policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents, carers and children spoken to on the day and from written comments.

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Information about the setting

Winston's Place at Wirral Christian Centre was registered in 1983 and is on the Early Years Register. It is situated within the Wirral Christian Centre in the Birkenhead area of Liverpool, and is managed by a committee. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. The nursery operates from a variety of specially designed rooms within the centre and there is an enclosed area for outdoor play. The nursery employs 28 members of childcare staff. Of these, 20 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and above, including three with Qualified Teacher Status and two with Early Years Professional Status. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round, from 7.30am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 100 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak

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Information about the setting

English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The nursery is supported by the local authority.

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

 enhance opportunities to support children's increasing independence, for example, by introducing self-service at mealtimes for older children, and encouraging younger ones to feed themselves using correct cutlery.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is good because staff have a good knowledge and understanding of the requirements of the Early Years foundation Stage, and how children learn and develop. The manager and key persons meet with parents before children begin nursery. They collect a wealth of information about each child. Parents complete the 'All about Me' booklet, which gives a clear picture of their child and family. Staff record the information and use this along with initial observations to assess each child's starting point. Ongoing focused observation, assessment, and the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years, help staff to effectively monitor children's progress over time, ensuring that all children make good progress from their starting points. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children with English as a second language are well supported because staff have access to a range of additional,

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who attend

professional support. As a result, all children have their needs well met.

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who attend

All rooms have a wide range of interesting, age-appropriate, and easily accessible resources. Staff plan activities which capture children's interests and support their learning and development. Planning is based around a monthly theme, such as, people who help us, mini-beasts, favourite animals, superheroes and favourite stories and rhymes. Staff provide a wealth of learning opportunities for children taking into account their age, stage of development and interests. Younger children explore treasure baskets and textures, such as shredded paper, and looking for hidden animals. They sing favourite farmyard songs and repeat rhymes. Older ones enjoy listening to favourite stories and are animated when using puppets and story sacks; they investigate mini-beasts, count confidently, and match numbers and letters to pictures and sounds. Pre-school children learn about hospitals and the role of doctors and nurses. They 'perform surgery' on their dolls and

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who attend

teddies using plaster-of-paris to mend their broken arms and legs. Children are confident to explore, they explain their actions and choices, and fully engage in all activities. Consequently, children are actively engaged in their own learning, and make good, and sometimes very good, progress from their starting points.

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who attend

Staff give high priority to children's language development. Visual timetables, picture clues, signing, and clear instructions enable all children to communicate with both staff and each other. Staff speak calmly and clearly to children, they ask appropriate questions, give good eye contact and listen to the responses. They work well with other professionals and follow suggested strategies, such as 'Every Child a Talker' and use individual learning plans to support progress. In addition, staff use hand gestures and Makaton signing to reinforce instructions, questions, and behaviour strategies to support children with social communication and language requisition difficulties. All children are taught French and Spanish by a bi-lingual practitioner, they also have access to a range of other languages on display throughout the nursery. Children love reading stories and readily choose from a wide range of books. They approach adults to read with them and gather to share

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who attend

favourite stories. Planned activities using story or number sacks, further enhance children's early skills. Staff introduce older children to early reading and writing by providing a wealth of number and text in the environment. Children develop phonic skills through the introduction of the 'Letters and sounds' programme. They begin to recognise and reproduce letters in their name and in familiar words, and are encouraged to explore colour, shape and number through play. Children love music. In the sensory/music room they use mini stomp, tribal drums and a range of instruments to accompany familiar songs and rhymes and to make their own sounds.

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who attend

Parents are encouraged to extend children's learning at home through comments on daily feedback sheets and by sharing children's interest and excitement in their play. Special events such as 'Jeans for Genes', 'Tickled Pink', Nativity plays and outings provide further links between home and nursery. This has a positive impact on children's learning and development, as they feel secure and confidently share their experiences with adults and children alike. They have positive experiences and are learning skills for the future. Consequently children have consistency of care and are well prepared for school.

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

Children settle quickly into the nursery routine and feel safe and secure because there is a well embedded key-person scheme in place. They form strong attachments because staff give high priority to their physical, social and emotional development. Staff know the children and their families very well, and are aware of their individual needs, likes and dislikes. Nursery routines are clear, visual and well known. Simple rules, such as, take care of our toys, listen to each other, respect each other, play nicely and share activities, enable children to understand the ethos of the centre that is 'We are all one family.' Staff respect children's views, they listen and are interested in what children have to say. Staff are excellent role models asking children to help, or to 'come and finish your work sheet please'. They give lots of praise when children complete activities or achieve their target for the day. Positive behaviour strategies, such as, traffic lights, star of the day/week, a

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

feelings boards and reward stickers, support children's emotional development. As a result, children feel valued and become confident learners.

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

Children learn about being healthy through a variety of activities. The nursery is actively engaged in the 'Healthy Lifestyles for Early Years' award scheme. Nutritious meals and snacks are prepared fresh daily, in a central canteen and delivered to the appropriate rooms. Options are available for children with a variety of dietary needs. Fresh water is constantly available in all rooms. At mealtimes, older children sit at tables and are supported to try the meal on offer before being offered an alternative. Younger children sit at low tables or in high chairs. They enjoy a delicious roast dinner, vegetable lasagne and rice pudding or cake and custard. However, some opportunities to enhance children's growing independence are missed because staff plate up, serve meals, and sometimes spoon feed babies. All menus are shared with parents and staff give daily feedback as to what children have eaten, they may also comment that a child has not eaten much and

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

may need more food at home. Children readily share their likes and dislikes saying 'I had lovely roast but I didn't like the peas'. In this way they learn to express their own ideas and opinions. The nursery has very good hygiene routines. Babies and younger children are regularly changed in designated changing areas and have their dignity well maintained. Older children take care of their own personal hygiene very well. They use the toilet and wash their hands at key times during the day after playing, painting and before eating. Children are aware of the need to do this. When they are tired, babies and young children sleep comfortably in cots or on beds with their own blankets and comforters. Older children rest in quiet areas of their room listening to music or reading books.

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

Children have ample opportunity to develop their physical skills, as they have daily access to several outdoor areas. The well designed compact areas provide for a variety of activities, such as, running, balancing, jumping, climbing, digging, planting and investigating. Children count how many laps as they ride bikes; they also play hide and seek, and build with crates or blocks. The raised play house gives access to tunnels and dens as children use their imagination to extend play. Vegetable and growing areas support children's inquisitive nature as they plant seeds and watch them grow. Within the nursery there is a large indoor play area with a ball pool, slide, and variety of large construction activities. Giant versions of popular games enable children to work together in teams. Children remind each other to be careful on equipment that is wet because of the rain; they observe the rule of only one on the slide, and take off their shoes when

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

playing in the ball pool. In this way, children learn to take risks in a safe environment supported by staff. Consequently, children are kept safe and their physical and emotional needs are very well met.

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

There is a robust process for transition within the nursery. Children have visits of increasing frequency to their next room to meet the children and staff and join in activities. New key persons meet with parents to exchange information, and discuss any further needs. As a result, the transitions within the nursery are very effective. When children are moving to a new setting or to school a similar process is undertaken. The manager meets with parents and finds out which school/setting the child will attend. School staff are invited to the nursery to observe children in familiar surroundings and transition visits are arranged as appropriate. All visits are well documented and records of receiving schools kept. Children's learning journals and other documents are passed to the new setting or school with parental permission, on the understanding that they will be returned to parents. Children transitioning to school have a 'Graduation' day. They are

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

presented with French and Spanish certificates of achievement, graduation scroll, and a Winston Bear as a memento of their time in the nursery. Consequently, children have continuity of care and easily transfer to school.

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provision

The manager and provider have a good in-depth knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements for the Early Years foundation Stage. All required policies and procedures are very well written and embedded in practice, in particular those relating to safeguarding. Staff have an excellent understanding of safeguarding children and are clear about the process to report any concerns. They give high priority to children's safety as they carry out thorough risk assessments of all activities, and ensure that the premises are secure at all times.

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provision

There are robust systems in place for effective selection and recruitment of staff, which includes ensuring all appropriate suitability checks are carried out. The management committee support staff's continued professional development by providing a range of appropriate training. Regular staff meetings, room evaluation, staff appraisal and discussions enable the manager to identify strengths and weaknesses in practice. Effective procedures are in place to support improvement. The nursery self-evaluation is thorough and regularly updated. All previous recommendations and actions have been addressed. For instance, planning has been changed to focus on individual children's needs and interests. Observations and assessment are linked to the areas of learning and are used to plan next steps in learning and development. As a result, tracking shows all children make good, and sometimes very good, progress from their starting points.

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provision

Partnerships with parents and other professionals are strong. Parent's views are sought on a daily basis as they drop off and collect their children, though questionnaires and in regular meetings to discuss learning journals, progress and transition. As this inspection was triggered as a result of a complaint made to Ofsted it is important to note that all parents spoken to are more than happy with the level of support and care given to their children by the nursery staff. They are very happy with the service they receive from the nursery. Parents spoken to during the inspection say they are always welcome, and that they have plenty of information about their children's day, sometimes too much to take in. They are able to contribute to any and all activities and feel that their voice is heard. Partnerships with the local community, and other professionals enhance the experiences offered to children and ensure all needs are effectively met. There is no evidence to

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provision

substantiate the complaint that some children are not cared for correctly within the nursery. Many support agencies are involved in the observation assessment and planning for children in the nursery. They work together with staff to support individual needs and secure quality experiences for all children. Links with local schools give further opportunities for progress as school staff work with pre-school to share quality planning and activities that prepare children well for school. The setting has a strong capacity to improve given the commitment and enthusiasm of the staff, and the level of support from the management committee and all those who access this positive friendly and caring nursery.

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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 306523 Local authority Wirral Inspection number 975819

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 100 Number of children on roll 190 Name of provider Wirral Christian Centre Trust Limited Date of previous inspection 17/09/2013 Telephone number 0151 653 8307 x 113

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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

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’.

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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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