Tiddlywinks Nursery

Tiddlywinks Nursery Tithe Farm, Laxfield Road, Fressingfield, Eye, Suffolk, IP21 5PY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 15/08/2014 06/10/2008

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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

 Parents feel involved in their children's learning and are happy with the flexible approach to their childcare needs because the staff have established good partnerships with parents and carers.  Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported because staff monitor their progress and work with parents and other professionals.  Children are confident and form good relationships because the key-person system is effective in supporting individual children and helping them to feel secure.

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It is not yet good because

 Staff do not clearly identify in planning how activities will help children learn or how next steps will be achieved. Consequently, areas of learning are not consistently covered and activities do not always provide appropriate challenge.  Children are not always interested in the activities available and they lack concentration, because staff do not always make best use of resources to provide a consistently good-quality learning experience for children.  Staff overlook some areas of risk; they do not ensure all fire doors are free of obstruction or practise the emergency evacuation procedure, using the various fire exits that are available in the event of an emergency.

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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 engaged in discussion with staff, children, parents and the registered provider.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at planning documentation, records of children's learning, a selection of written policies and procedures, and other records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out observations of practice across all age ranges, both indoors and outdoors.  The inspector carried out a joint observation of practice with the nursery manager.  The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of the staff.

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Information about the setting

Tiddlywinks Nursery was registered in 2003 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in purpose-built premises in Fressingfield, Suffolk, and is managed by the registered provider. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from a two-storey converted barn and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery employs 15 members of childcare staff. Of these, 12 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above, including two with Early Years Professional Status or Qualified Teacher Status. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round, from 8am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 59 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

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Information about the setting

with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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must:

 improve risk assessment to accurately identify aspects of the environment that need to be checked, and how risks will be removed or minimised

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must:

 improve planning to provide a consistently challenging and enjoyable learning experience for each child in all areas of learning and development.

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

 review and improve the learning environment to make best use of resources and space, both indoors and outdoors, providing good-quality learning experiences for all children.

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who attend

Staff make regular observations of children and use these to assess their progress. They plan next steps for each child, according to their individual needs, working closely with parents and other staff in the room to ensure that assessments are accurate. The progress checks for children between the age of two and three years are well managed and shared with parents, so that they can support their children's learning at home. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported and make good progress according to their individual starting points. The quality of teaching is variable. Children are supported by adults to acquire many of the skills that they will need when they go to school. They learn to dress and undress themselves when they get ready for physical exercise sessions. Children are encouraged to practise their writing skills when they make their own passport during a role-play activity

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who attend

about going on holiday. In addition, they learn to share and take turns when they take part in snack time. As well as developing early reading skills when they play a phonics game that helps them to recognise letters and sounds, with the support of adults. However, planning for activities for older children lacks focus and does not show how the activities will contribute to children's learning. As a result, some activities, particularly around lunch time and during outdoor play, lack appropriate challenge, especially for more-able children. For example, staff put food on plates for children at lunch time but do not offer them the opportunity to learn new physical skills through self-service. In addition, some staff are not clear about the learning intentions of activities and, as a result, they miss opportunities to extend children's learning by providing additional materials, such as name cards at the writing table or chalks on the black-board outdoors.

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who attend

This does not support children to make the best possible progress in their learning.

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who attend

Interesting activities, such as walking to feed the chickens or visits to the local church, provide babies and young children with opportunities to learn about the world they live in and the local environment. Younger children especially enjoy playing with a wide variety of interesting materials that helps them to express their creativity. They develop their imagination as they explore the texture of gloop, experiment with frozen jelly or dig in the compost. Staff working with the younger children are especially skilled in supporting early language development. They talk animatedly to children, listen to what they have to say and encourage children and babies to communicate effectively. They use a range of appropriate resources to support their assessment of children's language and, as a result, children with language delay are identified early and are provided with the support they need to make good progress. Babies are confident communicators and older children use

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who attend

language to express their ideas, ask questions and develop their thinking.

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

The staff have established a secure key-person system to support children's emotional well-being effectively. They make sure that a consistent adult is always on duty to support children when the key person is not available. They gather good information about children's individual needs when they start at the nursery to make sure that children's individual needs are appropriately met. In addition, key persons liaise with each other to support children when they move from one room to the next. They have recently reorganised the nursery environment to limit the number of changes that children will experience. As a result, children and babies settle into the nursery very quickly, and are confident and happy. They choose their own resources and make choices about whether they will play indoors or outdoors for the majority of the time. Children play together in large and small groups, and generally behave well because staff help them to learn how to

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

share and take turns. Staff use consistent strategies to help children to understand what is expected of them. Children's physical development is promoted well and staff help children to learn about being healthy through everyday activities. Children enjoy regular fresh air and exercise, playing in the garden and going on walks in the nearby locality. They eat healthy meals, which are prepared freshly each day and have a choice of what they want to eat. They grow their own salad vegetables and collect eggs from the chickens. When they go on walks, they talk about staying safe and use the rope walk to help them to learn to stay together. However, children's safety is not fully assured because staff overlook some potential hazards when they carry out daily risk assessments. Children manage their own personal hygiene well, according to their age and stage of development. Babies are also encouraged to follow regular hand-washing procedures, so that they form good hygiene

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

However, staff do not always make best use of the physical environment to support children's learning or to provide consistent quality learning experiences. For example, while there are specific learning areas outside for children to engage in, such as constructing, mark-making and mathematics, these are not attractively presented and necessary equipment is not always available. This limits children's ability to explore, experiment and create. Indoors, other areas are in need of attention. The book area has a good range of books available, but many of these are well worn and some are in poor condition and, consequently, do not engage children's interest. This limits children's learning and affects their motivation to initiate their own activities.

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provision

The nursery is managed by the two owners that make up the registered person. Together, they have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities with regard to meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They work well together and have established a clear vision for the nursery, and identified and made improvements to practice. Since the last inspection they have introduced effective assessment processes to ensure that children's progress is carefully monitored. Safe recruitment systems are in place, which ensure that children are safeguarded effectively. Regular training on safeguarding children ensures that all staff are well informed about what to do if they have concerns for children's safety or well-being. Regular team meetings take place, were all members of staff discuss their practice and share ideas. However, the recent departure of key staff, and the need to use temporary staff to cover short-term staff absences over

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provision

the summer, has resulted in some inconsistencies in practice and a variance in the quality of teaching. The two managers act as good role models, but staff are not provided with enough guidance or direction and, as a result, some children are not provided with appropriate challenge and some aspects of the learning environment are not well maintained. In addition, risk assessments are not rigorous enough to identify and reduce all potential hazards. This means that some fire exits are not kept clear, emergency evacuation of the premises is not planned and practised using the different fire exits and fungi, which is growing in the children's play area, goes unnoticed.

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provision

Overall, staff training is well planned, with inset days to cover essential areas of practice, such as behaviour management and first aid. In addition, staff attend regular training, identified through their one-to-one supervision meetings and cascade their learning to their colleagues at team meetings. Training around early language development has resulted in children with speech or language delay being identified early and professional advice being sought where necessary. Self-evaluation is carried out by all members of staff at team meetings and parents are encouraged to contribute their views through regular questionnaires. Written feedback is encouraged and acted upon following parent activity sessions.

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provision

Partnerships with parents and carers are strong. Parents are pleased with the progress that their children are making, and are confident to approach the nursery if they have questions to raise. They are provided with good information about their children's progress, through regular access to their learning journals and formal parent evenings. Parents of younger children are able to discuss their children's play and learning on a day- to-day basis. Parents and families are encouraged to contribute the nursery activities, for example, by sharing their experience of 'Australian life' with the children, in order to support their learning. Parents of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported by the nursery. The managers work collaboratively with a wide range of relevant professionals, to ensure that everyone is well informed and children's individual learning needs are adequately met.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 ensure that all necessary measures are taken to minimise any identified risks.  ensure that all necessary measures are taken to minimise any identified risks.

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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 EY274887 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 872771

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 54 Number of children on roll 59 Name of provider Havers Development Ltd Date of previous inspection 06/10/2008 Telephone number 01379 586111

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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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