Little Explorers Day Nursery & Pre-School

Little Explorers Day Nusery & Pre- School Unit 4, The Square, Grampound Road, Truro, Cornwall, TR2 4DS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 13/08/2014 20/02/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 The warm relationships and developing bonds children have with staff enables children to settle in and grow in confidence in the nursery.  The staff's skilful interactions encourage children to experiment and explore, so developing their thinking and extending their knowledge through fun activities.  Links with staff at the local school enables the staff to provide complementary activities and learning experiences, providing continuity in children's learning.

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It is not yet good because

 Children's play is often interrupted and access to different areas of the nursery is restricted by the need for unchecked staff to be closely supervised until suitability checks have been completed.  Script in the environment does not reflect the languages used by families using the nursery, to celebrate and raise awareness of difference and diversity.

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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 took account of parents' and carers' views spoken to on the day.  The inspector sampled documentation regarding planning and children's progress.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked documents relating to the suitability and qualifications of staff.  The inspector held discussions with the provider and staff.  The inspector carried out a joint observation of an activity alongside the owner.

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Information about the setting

Little Explorers Day Nursery and Pre-school registered in 2007. It operates from a detached, converted, two-storey building in the village of Grampound Road, near Truro. There is a secure enclosed outdoor play area for children's use. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 5.30pm for 50 weeks of the year and is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare register. There are currently 46 children on roll. There are eight members of staff who work directly with the children. Of these, one holds a level 4 qualification in childcare, four are qualified to level 3 and one holds a level 2 qualification.

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must:

 review the deployment of staff so that children are able to access all play areas and activities.

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

 include script in the environment which reflects languages used by families using setting to raise children's awareness of difference and diversity.

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who attend

The educational programme is good. Staff use their knowledge of children to plan and provide a range of activities which engage their interest and support their learning and development. Staff demonstrate their secure understanding of how children learn as they encourage young children to play with and explore shaving foam, for example. In addition to enjoying the sensation and texture, this enables children to develop their coordination and begin making simple marks. For example, children notice the tracks made by toy cars as they push them through the shaving foam. This gives them the basic skills they will need for future drawing and writing. Staff support these young children in communicating their needs by encouraging and praising their attempts at sign language. Staff provide appropriate furniture and toys to encourage babies to develop their mobility as they learn to crawl and walk.

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who attend

As older children play at the water table, staff skilfully encourage them to experiment, and guess which objects will sink or float in the water, and consider why. When they show children how to create small boats out of foil, children see how a single pebble on its own immediately sinks. Staff then encourage children to count how many pebbles they can add to their foil boat, before it also sinks. This activity fascinates the children and they happily test out the foil boats repeatedly considering how and why they float.

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who attend

The staff make effective use of daily routines to reinforce children's learning. Children recognise and find their named placemats set out on the tables before sitting down in readiness for their lunch. Some older children recognise their friends' names and remind adults that they need removing from the self-registration board when their friends have gone home. However, script around setting does not reflect the languages used by all the families using the nursery. This reduces children's ability to learn about the differences and similarities between their own language and those of their friends.

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who attend

The current theme being people who help us, role-play outfits are a range of uniforms for emergency workers. Children enjoy visits from local fire fighters, with their fire engine and learn about fire safety. They learn about how doctors and nurses help them in hospital when the role play area is set up as a hospital with two small beds made up. Staff encourage children to write out prescriptions so that they begin to write for a purpose. Outdoors as young children enjoy energetically bouncing on the small trampoline, staff make counting meaningful and fun as they encourage children to count their bounces.

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who attend

Staff introduce children to a range of table top games and carefully explains the aims of the games and the rules. Staff adapt these rules to meet the developmental needs of different children. This helps children learn to listen and attend to instructions, follow rules and take turns. All skills that they need to make friends and for their future learning.

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who attend

The staff use effective assessment systems to establish children's starting points, identify their individual next steps and plan future learning opportunities. They make regular summaries of children's progress and share these with parents along with suggestions of things parents can do at home to support their children's progress. Parents praise the progress that children make at the setting and some contribute to their children's learning journals.

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

Established children are confident and secure in their relationships with staff. They form secure attachments to their key person and make positive relationships with other children. Children are confident to move between activities and happily approach and ask staff for support if needed. Young children and babies are secure enough to quickly fall asleep and sleep soundly, waking happy and refreshed. Staff are very sensitive to the needs of new children. They enable these children to form attachments by giving them plenty of reassurance and attention. This enables these children to participate in activities and grow familiar with the environment.

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

Staff explain exactly what behaviour is expected and give children clear examples of how to manage disputes. The staff's praise for positive behaviour and children's familiarity with daily routines enable them to behave well, bearing in mind their differing stages of development.

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

Staff are caring and attentive as they help children to manage their own personal care needs, encouraging and praising children appropriately in their toilet training. They remind children to wash their hands when required.

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

Children's participation in regular fire drills helps children learn how to behave safely in the event of fire. The development of the main outdoor space with the provision of a pirate ship and a climbing wall, enables children to develop their imaginations and enjoy the challenge and assess the risks of climbing. In another area, the recent addition of a bug hotel and a messy kitchen, encourages children to experiment and learn about their environment. Staff involve children in growing vegetables and flowers to teach children about healthy eating and what both they and plants need to grow well.

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

At busy times children's access to areas and activities is limited, which reduces children's choices about what they want to play with and where they want to play. This is because there is a delay in checking the suitability of new staff. This means that staff deployment is restricted because unchecked staff have to be supervised at all times and children often have to congregate in one area to ensure a vetted member of staff is present at all times.

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

The nursery has close links with the local reception teacher, sharing information with her about children's development levels. She visits the nursery to observe and meet children, and share information with staff about her teaching methods. This enables staff to provide continuity of learning experiences. The independence and social skills that children gain along with their curiosity, ability to attend to and follow instructions, recognise their names and familiarity with number, equip them with the skills they need for their future learning.

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provision

This inspection took place because of concerns raised about safety, suitability matters and child supervision. The provider meets most of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. They arrange for maintenance by workmen to take place outside operating hours, unless an emergency arises. In such instances, they keep children well away from the work and supervise them closely. This means children's welfare is protected. Although not an original concern, low priority is given to arranging for suitability checks to be carried out on new recruits. Although adult to child ratios are met, this being a small setting with only a few staff, there is an impact on the flexibility of staffing and their deployment. This is because until these checks are complete, new staff need very close supervision. This limits their ability to meet children's needs, by restricting children's access to areas and activities in the nursery. Nonetheless, there is no impact on children's safety because unvetted

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provision

adults do not have unsupervised access to children.

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provision

The premises are secure and staff check visitors' identity prior to them entering the nursery. Sufficient staff have current first aid training to enable them to deal with any accidents and treat injuries appropriately. They conscientiously make detailed records of any accidents and incidents, which they share with parents. The staff remind children of safety rules, such as not running indoors, to raise their awareness of how to maintain their own safety and that of their friends. There are records of suitable risk assessments and fire drills to further promote children's safety. Clear instructions and records are kept of any medication that the staff administer.

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provision

The staff understand their responsibilities in meeting the learning and development requirements. They provide a range of experiences to promote children's progress and work in partnership with the local reception teacher. This effective partnership with the local school enables the staff to provide consistent learning experiences. Parents value the progress that their children make, the support staff give them and that their children settle in well making good relationships with staff.

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provision

The induction system equips new recruits with the knowledge they need about policies and procedures at the nursery. Experienced staff give them clear guidance and support on leading activities and promoting children's development, enabling them to develop their practice and do this well.

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provision

In response to concerns raised the management team are reviewing and analysing records to identify any patterns and minimise accidents and/or incidents. Systems for self- evaluation help staff to identify some appropriate areas for improvement, and there is a clear action plan to continue to improve the facilities.

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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 EY355980 Local authority Cornwall Inspection number 984999 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 29 Number of children on roll 46 Name of provider Sonya MacIntosh Date of previous inspection 20/02/2013 Telephone number 01726 883 444

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Setting details

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises, which are usually the childminder’s own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children,

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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