Oaks From Acorns Private Day Nursery

Oaks From Acorns Private Day Nursery Unit One, Reedley Business Centre, Redman Road, Reedley, BURNLEY, Lancashire, BB10 2TY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 21/08/2014 27/01/2011

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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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Staff are highly responsive to children's needs at all times; as a result, children are emotionally secure, exceptionally settled and very happy.  Partnerships with parents are very strong and working very well. Parents comment on how approachable and supportive staff are. Parents are fully informed and involved in their children's progress to ensure children's needs are fully met.  Staff have a good knowledge of children's starting points, which they use effectively to plan for their needs; consequently, all children are making at least good progress.  Excellent safeguarding policies and procedures are well known and implemented by the staff that place the utmost importance on ensuring children are extremely safe, protected and secure at all times.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff, occasionally, are less effective at always giving children more time to respond to questioning in order to support their creative and critical thinking.  There is scope to enhance the procedures for peer observations to ensure these are even more sharply focused on further improving the already good quality of teaching, in order to raise children's attainment to the highest levels.

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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 had a tour of the nursery with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed teaching and learning activities in the playrooms and outdoor learning environment.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children and the nursery's self-evaluation form.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of children, staff and parents spoken to on the day of inspection.

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Information about the setting

Oaks From Acorns Private Day Nursery is privately owned and was registered in 2010. It operates from a detached property in the Reedley area of Burnley. The children are separated into their age groups with a further room for messy play. The nursery serves the local area and has strong links with the Sure Start centre. The nursery is on two levels and is mostly accessible to all children. There are two enclosed areas available for outdoor play. The nursery opens Monday to Friday for 51 weeks of the year. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 123 children attending, of which 117 are within the early years age range. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four- year-olds. The group supports children who speak English as an additional language. The

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Information about the setting

nursery employs 23 members of staff. Of these, 21 members are employed to work with the children, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and above. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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

 enhance the already good questioning skills of staff by allowing children time to respond to open-ended questions to extend children's thinking skills

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

 embed peer observations to ensure the consistently good quality of teaching is further improved and best practice is shared across the nursery, so that children's progress is maximised to the optimum.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is good. Staff have a secure knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and how children learn; consequently, all children make good progress given their starting points. Staff provide interesting and challenging experiences and activities which capture children's curiosity. For example, children show great interest in exploring fake snow. They use their hands and some utensils to mix the dry flakes with water and watch intently as the texture changes. They talk about how the mixture feels and are given time to explore and make marks, developing their sensory awareness and early writing skills. Staff ask mostly open-ended questions to encourage children to think and enable them to learn. However, on occasions, staff are less effective at always allowing children more time to respond to these good questions, before answering, in order to further support all children's confidence and communication skills.

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who attend

Children access a wide range of purposeful and developmentally appropriate good quality resources, indoors and outdoors, which they able to self-select. This helps children, in becoming active learners as they initiate their own play. Children in the pre-school room confidently use a selection of pens, pencils and crayons to draw pictures and make marks. Older children are well prepared for school as they skilfully write their own names on their pictures and show great pride in their achievements. Additionally, through their developing independence and social skills they are being further prepared for their future learning. Babies develop good mobility skills as they pull themselves up to a standing position, and are encouraged to crawl and explore their environment. Skilled and attentive staff provide developmentally appropriate toys to encourage baby's physical skills as they take their first steps. Staff enthusiastically praise the children for their achievements, which clearly boosts

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who attend

Key person observations are documented in children's personal files and record clearly the development taking place across the seven areas of learning. This helps staff plan appropriate and purposeful future activities ensuring next steps in development are met, so that they reach their full potential. In addition, staff complete tracker sheets, which effectively summarise children's progress over time. These records provide a good overview of children's learning so that staff can track children's achievements and identify any gaps in their learning. As a result, staff have a good understanding of each child's individual stage of development and how they are progressing in order to plan for their next steps and narrow the achievement gap. These records include the progress check for children aged between two and three years.

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who attend

Children with additional needs are supported well by fully committed staff that use effective strategies in order to ensure that those working below expected levels of development in specific areas make good progress. For example, picture cards are used to support children with communication difficulties enabling them to express themselves and have their needs met more effectively. Daily discussions with staff and written communication books enable parents to have a clear insight into what their child has been doing while at nursery. Parents feel well informed of their child's progress and are actively encouraged to be involved in their children's learning to enable a consistent approach to children's learning at nursery and home is maintained. For example, parents complete Weekend News sheets with their children which staff use to gather information on children's achievements and as a starting point for new activities.

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

The exceptionally well-established key-person system enables children to form strong, close emotional attachments, which makes children feel very safe and secure. Staff's excellent knowledge of their key children and their superb commitment to nurturing the well-being of every child in their care is outstanding. This successfully develops children's strong sense of belonging and high levels of self-confidence. The recently introduced system of each child having a significant other, who cares for them in the absence of their key person, is superb and ensures consistency of care for all children. All staff know all the children exceptionally well. As such, children's emotional needs are met to a consistently high standard and transitions into new rooms are seamless.

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

Staff respect and highly value children as individuals and key persons immediately respond to their physical and emotional needs to ensure they remain exceptionally content and comfortable. Babies actively seek out their key person for comfort and cuddles when they need reassurance, are tired, hungry or have just woken up from their afternoon nap. Key persons are always close by and respond very quickly and sensitively to children's individual needs to ensure they are consistently comfortable at all times. Children are enthusiastic, happy and well settled in the nursery because staff have an excellent understanding of their needs through information provided by parents on entry. Photographic displays of children's families within the rooms create a sense of security and provide welcoming reassurance to new children.

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

Children's behaviour is exemplary. They respond exceedingly well to Golden Rules which are in place and actively learn about expected levels of behaviour from the very positive role modelling of staff and from each other. Highly skilled staff provide them with clear and consistent boundaries and help them to learn to manage their own feelings and to be kind to each other. Any minor incidents of inappropriate behaviour are expertly managed calmly and sensitively. Staff are very kind and caring and get down to children's level to talk to them about their behaviour. Reward stickers are given for good sitting and good listening and are meaningful to the children who proudly stick them onto their personal charts, as a result, they are highly motivated to succeed. These rewards are shared with parents, providing a consistent approach for the children regarding their behaviour and emotional security. Children are extremely confident and self-assured within the nursery

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

environment. Staff involve children in keeping the nursery tidy. The use of one piece of tidy up music throughout all of the rooms motivates all children to put their toys away and is a good sign to alert them of a meal or snack time. Planned circle times provide excellent opportunities for them to talk about themselves celebrate their achievements and explore transitions, for example, to prepare for when they are moving up into Reception class.

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

Babies' personal care needs are continually met and practices, such as a no shoe policy in the baby area help keep babies healthy by limiting any cross contamination. Staff use nappy changing time as an opportunity to exchange lovely, warm interactions, providing lots of eye contact and positive facial expressions. Babies each have their own comforters and favourite toys that they bring with them and use them when they have a nap to provide for their emotional security and well-being. Staff readily comfort children who are upset, providing them with a sense of security, feelings of being wanted and reassurance that they are okay. Children delight in accessing independently the quiet, cosy areas where they can rest and relax and play quietly.

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

Children are provided with a wide variety of nutritious snacks and meals which are carefully planned to ensure they access a healthy balanced diet. Information is gathered from parents on entry about children's specific nutritional requirements and allergies to ensure that each child's individual dietary needs are met. Children develop an extremely good understanding of their own self-care and the importance of good hygiene routines. Staff consistently supervise children as they use the bathroom and encourage them to be independent, while at the same time stay close by to help and support them if needed. Children demonstrate high levels of independence when managing their own personal care needs, such as washing their hands, setting their own place at meal times and clearing the tables. They confidently help to prepare their own healthy snack and call out excitedly, 'I'm cutting up my snack. I will be careful I don't cut myself' as they learn about risk and

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

keeping themselves safe, Children enjoy regular access to the outdoors. Rich, varied and imaginative activities provide challenge while enthusiastic staff support children to manage their own risks. There are opportunities to fill and empty containers in sand and water, throw balls to one another, ride tricycles and play in the wooden castle. Children have opportunities to go for walks to the local park and play on a nearby field, where they enjoy the benefits of exercise to develop their physical skills and learn to play cooperatively.

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provision

Staff have a secure knowledge of welfare and safeguarding procedures. Staff are aware of the safeguarding policy and the procedures to follow should they have a safeguarding concern or be concerned about a child's welfare. Safeguarding training is undertaken by staff and reviewed annually. Staff supervise children well; consequently, children are suitably protected. Procedures regarding the use of mobile phones and cameras in the setting are clear and are implemented effectively by the staff. Effective, safer recruitment and selection procedures are followed to ensure safe recruitment including; identity checks, qualification verification, reference checks and clearance checks to assess applicant's suitability to be with the children. Staff induction processes are in place and staff are further supported through meetings with their room leader and appraisals with the manager to develop their already good skills in teaching and in meeting children's

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provision

needs. The management team view paediatric first aid as a high priority and training is offered to all staff on a continuous rolling programme, ensuring children are kept safe at all times.

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provision

The management team have a very good understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the learning and development requirements. Both the manager and deputy work alongside staff and children on a daily basis, allowing them to make observations of staff performance as well as modelling good practice. Regular team meetings led by room leaders, ensure that staff are supported, further promoting their professional development and teaching skills. This ensures that staff have a good understanding of their responsibilities, and access a range of regular training opportunities in-house and through the local authority. Staff regularly discuss the needs of individual children and plan for their further development as a team. The nursery has undertaken the Lancashire Step into Quality Award and as a result has improved children's access to numbers in the environment to develop their mathematical awareness. Managers are working to improve

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provision

staff questioning skills so that all staff provides even greater opportunities for children to respond to questioning. However, these peer observations are not yet embedded to specifically target staff development in questioning skills to improve practice through honest and critical reflection. The manager has a clear understanding of the strengths and aspects for further development of the setting. The use of a self evaluation form is used to identify areas for improvement and is reviewed annually by the management team and staff. The manager is committed to improvement and plans are in place to improve the provision and further raise the achievement level of all children so they make the best possible progress in all areas of learning. The nursery works well in partnership with parents and other agencies. Parents place high value on the support they receive from staff, for example, at review meetings. Currently, staff gather parents' views through direct conversations,

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provision

communication books, in children's personal files and through weekend news sheets. The nursery has good links with the outside agencies to ensure any identified gaps in children's learning are addressed. Additionally, staff liaise effectively with local schools, where children transfer, to ensure children are well prepared for their next move.

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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 EY414414 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 851519

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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 123 Name of provider Reedley Childcare Limited Date of previous inspection 27/01/2011 Telephone number 01282 435373

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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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