Jigsaw Curzon House Nursery

Jigsaw Curzon House Nursery Curzon House, Wrexham Road, Eccleston, Chester, Cheshire, CH4 9DQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/08/2014 26/10/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 2 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 throughout the nursery have an excellent knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and, consequently, teaching is excellent. Staff swiftly identify children's starting points and plan exciting experiences for them across all areas of learning. As a result, children make rapid progress in their learning and development.  Staff use highly effective methods to engage parents. As a consequence, consistent information is shared about children's learning and development, enabling them to continue their child's learning at home.  A rich and varied learning environment ensures that children are always engaged in stimulating activities that challenge them and stretch their imagination. The attractive playrooms provide excellent opportunities for exploration and play, while the exceptional outdoor areas are superbly thought out and carefully resourced to ensure children can exploit every learning experience.

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This provision is outstanding

 Strong relationships and attachments with staff ensure children are happy and secure, and as a result, they are fully involved and confident.  The utmost priority is given to protecting and safeguarding the welfare of the children. This is evident through the highly effective practices that successfully promote children's safety and 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 staff practice and their interactions with children during activities, both indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with children, held discussions with staff at appropriate times throughout the inspection and carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of staff working with children and the provider's self-evaluation form.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Jigsaw Curzon Nursery opened in 1999 and is privately owned. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from a purpose-built building in the Curzon area of Chester. The nursery serves the immediate locality and also the surrounding areas. The nursery opens five days a week, from 7.15am until 6.15pm, all year round, except for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. Children attend for a variety of sessions. Children are cared for in seven playrooms and have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 99 children attending who are 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. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. There is currently 27 staff working directly

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Information about the setting

with the children, all of whom have an appropriate early years qualification. Two of the staff have appropriate qualifications at level 6. The nursery is a member of the National Day Nurseries Association and receives support from the local authority.

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

 build further children's excellent independence skills, for example, by offering even more opportunities to practice and develop their skills at meal times.

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who attend

Children are happy and very settled. They clearly love attending this vibrant and high- quality nursery, and are enthusiastic and excited. Each playroom is bright, warm and welcoming. Children show that they feel extremely safe and secure as they move freely around, using both indoors and outdoor spaces throughout the day. Older children independently choose resources and chat to staff about their play. Younger ones enjoy special time with their key person, exploring their reflection in the low-level mirrors or discovering the feel of ribbons and a range of wooden objects, which further enhance babies' exploratory skills. Excellent support is given to developing and extending children's communication and language skills from a very early age. Staff introduce vocabulary through simple stories, and repeat and model babbling over again. High emphasis is put on having fun, learning through play, and building positive relationships with people. This

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who attend

is done through staff being exceptionally strong role models to children, for example, showing them how to communicate effectively. All children are exceptionally keen to take part in group games. They sing along to favourite songs, clapping their hands and tapping their knees in time to the rhythm. They squeal and giggle as they use props to enhance their fun. Communication skills and basic mathematical skills are developed as they sing number songs and count out pennies for currant buns. The quality of teaching and learning is outstanding. Children's interests are intrinsically linked to thoughtfully planned and unplanned learning experiences. These activities very successfully capture children's natural curiosity, challenging them to explore and discover things for themselves. For example children spend time learning about the theme 'Under the Sea' in the sensory hut. This beautifully resourced and carefully planned environment provides children with

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who attend

opportunities to explore textures and sensory experiences. Exciting and interesting sensory bags are tailored to different themes and are bursting with interesting artefacts to ignite imagination and storytelling. Children develop their coordination as they feel the sensory lights and fabrics, and delight in watching the array of sea creatures swirl past them on the projected screen. They gain an understanding of habitats as staff converse with them about animals that live in shells. The children investigate and explore the contents of the sensory bag, developing their use of expressive language and a range of descriptive and positional words, such as 'spiky', 'smooth', 'inside', 'over' and 'under'. Staff expertly observe their developing language skills and sensitively repeat words, so children remember them.

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who attend

Staff are exceptionally skilled and effective teachers. Their engaging manner ensures that children's attention is fully captured as they read stories, lead circle time or just come alongside children to play. Staff instinctively know when it is appropriate to intervene and when to allow pre-school children to solve a problem themselves. Older children are fully absorbed as they investigate and explore ways to build a wall in the exceptionally well- resourced construction area. They work together cooperatively to solve the problem of how to mix the sand and water to a thickness which will hold the bricks together. Staff successfully build in challenge as they ask effective questions, for example, 'how much will you need?' And 'what will happen if too much water is added?' Children extend and develop their knowledge of mathematical concepts as they predict and estimate. Children strengthen their fine muscle skills as they use real hammers and nails to knock pieces of

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who attend

wood together. Staff are watchful but enable children to assess their own risks. This ensures children develop excellent mathematical and self-care skills from an early age to help them prepare for school.

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who attend

Alongside planned activities, staff are extremely adept at using spontaneous events and children's interests as a springboard for learning. For example, in the outside play area, staff follow the children's lead when the water tap is switched on. They respond quickly with watering cans and buckets and develop mathematical vocabulary by asking, 'is it full?' and saying, 'wow that bucket looks heavy'. Children develop their physical skills as they jump and splash in the water and make patterns with the watering cans. Older children's imaginations and storytelling skills are exceptionally well developed as they excitedly ride the imaginary magic carpet to visit Jack and the Beanstalk. The children join in with enthusiasm, marching through the playroom and outside as they pretend to swoop and swerve around the skies. Children are very confident communicators and do not hesitate to share their ideas and imaginative thoughts with the adults. They shout out all the

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who attend

things they 'see' as they travel over the land and sea. Staff skilfully introduce mathematical concepts as they use a real bean pod and ask children to estimate how many beans are inside. They discuss whether a bean is a good substitute for a cow, which leads on to further conversation about where different foods come from. Consequently, every experience is fully exploited to help children learn about their world and develop new skills.

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who attend

Detailed information is gathered from parents when children start attending the nursery, and provides staff with a clear baseline for their learning. Staff know the children extremely well and provide individualised play opportunities to enhance their progress. In addition, children's progress and development are observed and monitored effectively, with developmental records updated regularly. Activities are planned using children's next steps as a guide. Staff consult children about their interests and shape planning around these. As a result, activities are extremely well matched to their needs and they make rapid progress in their development. Staff throughout the nursery use information, gathered from detailed observations of children's learning and consultations with parents, to inform detailed summative reports and the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years. They provide an extremely broad range of highly interesting

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who attend

and challenging experiences that meet the needs of all who attend, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

Key persons build very effective relationships with parents and carers that enable them to fully support children's personal care needs. Children are exceptionally well cared for by loving and friendly staff. They treat all children as unique individuals, providing expert care and attention to meet their care and learning needs. Staff are highly proactive in gathering comprehensive information from parents to find out everything of relevance, so that individual care plans can be initiated for each child. As a result, staff have an excellent picture of the children's abilities. Staff also speak to parents to ascertain children's interests and home routines, so they can be mirrored in the nursery. There are well- planned systems to ensure new children settle from the beginning, when they move to new rooms or start school. For example, key persons regularly speak to one another and share information relating to their key children. Visits from local schools are arranged in

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

the nursery, so teachers get to know the needs of the children. Transition review meetings for children with special needs and/or disabilities are extremely well organised. This results in parents, staff and outside agencies providing an excellent consistency of care and consequently, children adjust very well to their new environment in school. Staff are extremely vigilant and responsive to children's care needs. For example, babies have their nappies changed promptly in an area which protects their dignity. A key-person system is deeply embedded in practice and means that children feel extremely secure. Staff are always close by to ensure children are happy and confident. Consequently, babies and children thrive and enjoy exploring the highly stimulating activities on offer. Relationships at all levels are exemplary, with acts of kindness towards others being the norm. For example, pre-school children voluntarily share resources and help one another

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

to tidy toys away. This is because staff are very positive role models and consistently praise children's behaviour, boosting their confidence. Children are extremely aware of boundaries and have an excellent knowledge of how to keep themselves safe. For example, pre-school children know they must always sit quietly behind the log circle when they are waiting to feed the fish in the nature garden pond. They fully understand the rules and know to listen to the staff's instructions. This means that children play exceptionally well together and the atmosphere remains calm, which is conducive to high- quality play and learning.

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

Hygiene procedures are excellent and children are served highly nutritious food and snacks, so they are helped to stay fit and healthy. A healthy eating policy is very effectively embedded and staff adhere to this very well. They share their values about healthy eating with parents. For example, parents are invited in to sample the menu and discuss their children's interests in trying new foods. Swimming sessions are organised by the nursery for babies and toddlers, which enables them to be confident swimmers. Regular access to a highly stimulating outdoor play area further enhances children's already excellent physical and coordination skills. Children relish being outdoors because of the opportunities offered to them to move about and handle equipment and apparatus. Children are extremely independent. Babies learn to feed themselves using spoons and hold their own lidded drinking cups. Toddlers and pre-school children use knives and forks

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

to cut up their food, and they are persistent in trying until they succeed. Very occasionally, some additional opportunities to build on their very good independence skills are not always fully exploited, for example, when staff clear away plates and cups rather than encouraging children to do this for themselves.

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provision

The owner and management team have very high expectations for the quality of care that is offered to children and families. They are innovative and flexible in their approach to meeting the needs of children and families. Regular and robust reviews of paperwork and procedures take place to ensure that all requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage are met. This is enhanced by rigorous safeguarding and child protection training that ensures staff are kept up to date with local procedures. They are aware of the possible signs of abuse and know precisely what to do if they have concerns about a child. Regular staff discussions highlight the safe use of mobile phones, cameras and social-media websites. Managers use a detailed checklist to ensure that all the necessary checks, references, qualifications and employment history are complete. In addition to this, a detailed induction and probationary period effectively supports new practitioners and

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provision

students. All adults, working with or in contact with the children, complete vetting checks before they start employment. This helps to protects children's safety and well-being. Practitioners create a rich learning environment that is stimulating and supports children to engage in active learning. The management team take effective measures to ensure the security and safety of the children within the environment. Each door has an external fingerprint system, and parents and visitors are admitted by practitioners into an enclosed reception area. The outside areas are secure. The manager has a clear overview of what is taking place in all areas, through constant monitoring throughout the day. Hence, children's welfare and well-being is shown to be of the utmost priority.

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provision

The nursery is unceasing in its desire and drive for improvement and leadership and management are of the highest quality. The environment, both indoors and outside, is thoughtfully planned and beautifully resourced. Staff listen to the views of parents, children and other professional, and swiftly ensure changes are made to meet any needs. New staff are closely monitored and there is a rigorous induction process to ensure that they quickly become familiar with the policies and procedures, and understand their roles and responsibilities. The owner and her deputy are highly qualified and have a wealth of knowledge about early years education. They are rigorous in their duty to ensure all the educational programmes are delivered in depth and that the learning and development and safeguarding requirements are met. They also have an excellent knowledge of the skills of their staff, as they are observed and appraised regularly. The high-quality

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provision

professional supervision is consistent. Staff are encouraged to share ideas with each other and to critically reflect on practice during staff meetings. This very effectively creates a happy, supportive atmosphere and ensures that everyone is maintaining high standards. An astute and targeted programme of professional development is provided to staff and is linked to their personal interests and targets. As a result, staff are constantly improving their outstanding practice and understanding. Assessments show that children make rapid progress given their starting points. The management team has an impressive overview of children's needs because observation and assessment are highly effective in informing staff's planning. Thorough and extensive learning profiles clearly highlight any gaps in learning, and staff know exactly where to enhance the curriculum to address this.

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provision

Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the nursery. Comments are made on the warm, family atmosphere; parents consistently say that staff are friendly and professional. There are excellent procedures in place to ensure parents' concerns are dealt with in a professional manner. For example, the management team discuss together any concerns raised. They then explain to parents what changes have been put into place, if any are required. The nursery welcomes and reaches out to parents through parents' evenings, social events, and informal meetings and discussions. Children's needs are exceptionally well met through excellent partnerships with local schools and outside agencies. This is because information sharing about children's needs is first rate and any necessary support is put into place swiftly, so children make rapid 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 305125 Local authority Cheshire West and Chester Inspection number 867572

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 99 Number of children on roll 117 Name of provider Claire Louise Taylor Date of previous inspection 26/10/2009 Telephone number 01244 675712

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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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