Rising Stars Nursery

Rising Stars Nursery Firbank Childrens Centre, Firbank Road, LANCASTER, LA1 3HL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/08/2014 28/02/2012

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 Managers and staff have a thorough understanding of safeguarding and child protection procedures. As a result, children are kept safe and protected from harm.  Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well because staff make timely interventions and ensure support is in place from external agencies. Consequently, the gap in children's achievements is narrowing.  Teaching is good. Staff skilfully question children and provide time for them to consider their responses. Consequently, children are strongly focused and engaged in their activities and they make good progress in their learning.  Managers and leaders have high aspirations. They lead the setting effectively and strive for continuous improvement so that children benefit from good quality care and education.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Children have fewer opportunities to see written print or name labels within the outdoor environment to extend their early reading and literacy skills.  Children have fewer opportunities to be independent at meal times.

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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 two main playrooms.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

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

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Information about the setting

Rising Stars Nursery was registered under new ownership in 2011. It is run by Person 1st Childcare Limited and is situated within Firbank Children's Centre in Lancaster. The nursery opens five days a week, from 7.30am until 6pm, for 51 weeks of the year. It operates from four main playrooms and children have access to enclosed outdoor play areas. There are currently 101 children on roll in the early years age range. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The nursery supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. There are currently 20 staff members working directly with the children; 17 of whom have appropriate early years qualifications; one at level 2, 14 at level 3 and two have Early Years Professional status. The nursery receives support from the local authority. It is registered on the Early Years

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Information about the setting

Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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

 enhance further the already good opportunities for children to develop their early literacy skills, for example, by creating an outdoor environment rich in print, such as using names, signs and posters

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

 review procedures at meal times so that children are able to be as independent as possible, for example, by providing opportunities for children to use knives as well as forks to eat their meals.

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who attend

Teaching is good across the nursery and as a result, children make good progress in their learning. Staff are knowledgeable in the Early Years Foundation Stage and they ensure that children are offered educational programmes that have depth and breadth across all areas of learning. Therefore, children are acquiring skills in readiness for their next stage in learning. Activities on offer are challenging and hold children's interests. For example, younger children delight in scooping and crunching the different textured foods with utensils, which also helps to develop their physical skills. Staff base planned activities around the children's interests and development, in order to fully support them. The nursery is a bright and stimulating, word-rich environment. However, this is not as evident in the outdoor areas, which means some opportunities are missed to further support children's emerging literacy skills.

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who attend

Children's starting points are obtained from parents on entry to the nursery to fully support their learning early on. Staff carry out the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years and the written summary is shared with parents. This ensures that any gaps in children's achievements are identified quickly. Regular assessments are made of children's overall progress and staff use information gained from observing children to plan for their next steps. Therefore, staff have a good understanding of children's individual needs. Staff are extremely skilled in questioning children during activities and their play, enabling them to think critically and extend their learning. This means children gain the necessary skills to support their future learning.

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who attend

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. The nursery benefits from a knowledgeable special educational needs coordinator who works closely with parents and a range of other professionals. As a result, children's individual needs are effectively met. The nursery supports children's language and communication skills through the use of the 'WellComm' programme. This ensures that staff identify any support children may need so that interventions can be put in place early. The nursery works very well with parents in informing them of their child's progress and development. They are regularly invited into the nursery to discuss their child's progress with their key person, to enable them to be involved in their child's learning at home. Children who speak English as an additional language are well supported by staff. As a result, they make good progress in their learning. Parents of children from different faiths and cultures

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who attend

are also invited into the nursery to talk about the different festivals they celebrate. This supports children in developing their understanding of the world around them.

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

Children are happy and settled in their surroundings and they have formed close relationships with staff members. For example, children independently go to a member of staff for a cuddle, which shows children have formed strong attachments and feel emotionally well supported. Each child is assigned a key person who ensures that their learning and care is tailored to meet their individual needs. This is because they find out good information from parents about their child's needs. Children are offered settling-in sessions to gradually introduce them to the nursery, allowing them to feel secure and to settle quickly. Children understand what is expected of them in regards to their behaviour, and consequently, they behave very well. Staff members encourage the children to learn through praising them for their achievements and giving them incentives to continue to further develop. Children are good at taking turns and sharing. For example, a child calls

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

to the other children, asking who would like 'the big boy bike' after he had finished. Therefore, children learn to play cooperatively together.

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

All children are offered healthy, nutritious meals and snacks. The younger children sit together and enjoy eating their pieces of fruit. The members of staff allow a child to explore the piece of orange in their mouth, taking care to ensure they are safe while doing this. Staff promote good hygiene practices; children are encouraged to wash their hands before their meals and they understand that they do this to keep themselves safe from germs. Staff also wear aprons and gloves to prevent possible cross-contamination when serving the food, helping to keep children healthy. Older children sit together eating their meals and enjoy socialising with each other, and staff support them during meal times by sitting with them. However, children are not able to be fully independent when eating their meals as they are only offered forks to eat with so they have to push their food onto their forks with their fingers. Water is available throughout the day for the children,

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

meaning that they are able to keep themselves hydrated. Children are offered plenty of fresh air and physical exercise. They develop their physical skills on the bicycles and balancing beams and are able to manage their own risks when accessing these. One outdoor area has different levels allowing the children to run up and down the hills and experience high and low levels.

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

Children are supported as they move rooms in the nursery, and on to school through a handover of information about their progress. Old and new key persons liaise with each other and children are given time to get to know their new key person in their new room. Transition reports are produced and shared with parents; these detail information on the child's learning and development ready to support them in their future skills at school.

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provision

Managers' and staff's safeguarding knowledge and understanding is very good and this is a strength of the nursery. They are very aware of the procedures to follow in the event of a concern. As a result, children are well protected. The nursery has a detailed and comprehensive safeguarding policy and procedures. Key-pad systems and locked doors ensure that children remain safe and secure in the nursery. Risk assessments are carried out to ensure that the environment for the children is safe. Parents are asked to provide the nursery with passwords to ensure only authorised people collect children, also ensuring their safety. All staff demonstrate a thorough understanding of the learning and development and safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Consequently, children are making good progress. Senior staff have attended safer recruitment training and there are robust procedures in place to ensure only suitable

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provision

The nursery benefits from two Early Years Professionals who regularly monitor the quality of the educational programmes on offer to the children. Children's next steps are checked and evaluated to ensure that they are supporting the children well enough for them to make further progress. Assessments are carried out at regular intervals, so that staff can easily identify gaps in progress to fully support children. The managers and leaders are extremely committed to making improvements to the quality of care offered to the children. They have completed the 'Step into quality' award and use support from external childcare organisations to update their knowledge and make improvements. Self- evaluation is effective and all recommendations raised at the previous inspection have been addressed. This demonstrates the drive for continually improving the care and learning for children.

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provision

Staff are given opportunities to enhance their knowledge and further their professional development through training. Managers support staff in delivering good quality care to the children through robust supervisions and appraisal systems. Partnerships are very well established with other professionals, such as professionals within the children's centre next to the nursery, work very closely with the nursery and staff. The nursery also receives support from the local authority advisory team. Parents are asked for their views and opinions through questionnaires and suggestion boxes, which enables them to be involved in how the nursery is run. There is information displayed for parents on notice boards in the nursery, such as staff photographs and information, ensuring they are kept well informed. Parents rate the nursery very highly and praise the way that staff support the children and their families.

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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 EY432216 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 853287

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 88 Number of children on roll 101 Name of provider Person 1st Childcare Limited Date of previous inspection 28/02/2012 Telephone number 01524383366

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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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