Children's World

Children's World F.A.O Frances Rogers, Martin Place, Mill Lane, Hockwold, Thetford, Norfolk, IP26 4LR

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/08/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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

 Outdoor play is particularly well established, promoting children's interest in outdoors and ensuring that those children who learn best through being outdoors are able to do so.  Children are happy and settled and develop strong emotional attachments to their key- person and other staff. Children build good friendships with each other.  Management and staff have a good awareness of child protection issues. They know how to report concerns, in order to safeguard the children in their care.

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It is not yet good because

 Parents are not consistently kept informed about their child's experiences at nursery and children's individual routines are not routinely shared with all staff.  Staff do not have a good understanding of how to carry out the progress check for children between the age of two-and-three years, in order to ensure that any areas for concern are quickly identified and managed.  Some routine activities such as preparing younger children for sleeping after lunch are not organised well and result in children having to wait while their beds are prepared.  Staff do not always maximise opportunities to extend children's learning, to fully support their language skills and encourage them to explore, identify and solve problems.

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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 compulsory part 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 the baby room, the toddler room, the out-of- school club room that was being used as a holiday club by pre-school and school- aged children and the garden.  The inspector spoke with staff at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at activity planning, records of children's learning and a selection of policies and records.  The inspector held a meeting with the nursery owner/manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children, the provider's self-evaluation form and improvement plan.  The inspector spoke to a parent of a child attending the nursery.

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Information about the setting

Children's World has been operating since 2002 and re-registered in 2014 when it changed ownership. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. The nursery operates from rooms adjacent to the owner's home in Hockwold, Norfolk. Children use a variety of play rooms, over two floors. The upstairs playrooms are accessed via a flight of stairs. There is an enclosed garden for outdoor play. The nursery is privately owned and managed. It serves the local area. The nursery proprietor/manager is suitably qualified and employs eight childcare staff. Of these, six hold relevant childcare qualifications at level 2 and above. There are also three support staff employed at the nursery to manage the office and cleaning tasks. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday all year round, except for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. Opening hours are from 6.30am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There

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Information about the setting

are currently 56 children on roll, 35 of whom are in the early years age range. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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must:

 devise better practices for sharing information about children's individual routines, to ensure that their needs continue to be met in the absence of their key-person

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must:

 ensure consistent partnerships with all parents, by supporting them to share what they know about their child and improving the arrangements to provide parents with necessary information about their child's day and developmental progress

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must:

 provide staff with necessary training, skills and knowledge, in order that they understand how to carry out the progress check for children between the age of two-and-three years.

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

 focus more precisely on recognising and extending opportunities to support children's learning, for example, through considering the quality of verbal interactions with children and encouraging them to think, explore, identify and solve problems

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

 improve care arrangements, with regard to ensuring that children who always need rest and sleep after lunch do not have to wait while beds are made up for them.

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who attend

Staff know their key children well and talk confidently about where they are in their learning and development. They track children's progress across the areas of learning, enabling them to quickly identify if children are working below the expected developmental bands for their age. Concerns are monitored and action is taken to talk to parents and seek the support of outside agencies. Staff are aware of the importance of carrying out the progress check for children between the age of two-and-three years. They understand the need to ensure that any areas for concern in a child's developmental progress are quickly identified and managed and that they need to share their findings with parents. However, staff are not confident to carry out this check and have not received training to support them to conduct the checks effectively. There are a number of children for whom this check is due in the next six months. Staff encourage parents to be

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who attend

involved in their children's learning at home as well as in the nursery and regularly share written records with them.

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who attend

Staff observe children as they play and record their findings, along with photographic evidence. The observations are evaluated effectively, to identify the next steps in children's learning. Assessments of children's learning are carried through into planning. A new system of recording, planning, observation and assessment has recently been introduced. Early indications show that this new method is successful in enabling staff to identify and plan, to ensure that children's individual learning needs are met. The quality of teaching and learning is generally good and children are supported well to acquire the skills they need to be ready for the next stage in their learning, such as moving to school. Staff recognise the short concentration span of younger children and readily change activities in response to their changing interests. Children happily explore the environment, knowing that a familiar adult is nearby. They often check in with known

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who attend

adults for reassurance. However, staff do not always maximise opportunities to extend children's learning when they participate in activities with them. As a result, opportunities for children to explore why things happen are missed. For example, when building sandcastles with dry sand, staff do not talk to children about why the sandcastle collapses when they tip it out of the bucket or encourage children to think about what they could do to stop it happening again.

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who attend

Children enjoy making marks and sometimes give meaning to the marks they make. Staff provide a range of writing materials for children to explore, both indoors and outside. They provide opportunities for children to make marks with materials other than pencils and crayons. For example, they provide shaving foam in the 'builder's tray' outdoors where children enjoy making marks before covering them over and starting again. Children enjoy outdoor play and readily use the resources in the garden. Staff plan for all areas of learning for the outdoor environment, ensuring that those children who learn best through being outdoors are able to do so. When playing in the outdoor sand pit children are encouraged to count the number of holes in the bottom of the bucket. Staff support children as they count the four holes, pointing to each hole in turn as children count. They talk to children as they spoon sand into the bucket, using good vocabulary to talk about

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who attend

the activity. However, in other activities the promotion of children's vocabulary is not so effective. For example, during play with musical instruments in the toddler room staff miss opportunities to talk to children about the sounds they make and talk about the musical instruments. Children show an interest in singing and respond to familiar rhymes and songs, but are not encouraged to suggest which song they should sing next.

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

Children are happy, settle quickly and enjoy their time in nursery because transitions are managed well. Parents are encouraged to visit with their children, enabling them to get to know their key-person and other staff. Each child has a named person to take responsibility for their daily well-being and plan for their learning and development. They get to know the children well, including their individual routines for sleeping and feeding. However, this is not recorded, meaning that if the key-person is not present other staff may not know the child's routines in order that continuity of care can be promoted effectively.

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

Children mostly behave well. This is because consistent boundaries are in place, to help them know what is expected of them. As a result, children build secure emotional attachments to staff and develop friendships with their peers. Even very young children understand the need to share and take turns. During school holidays, older children are present during the day. They readily play with younger children and include them in their games. Unwanted behaviour is managed sensitively, taking into account children's age and level of understanding. Staff talk to children about why their behaviour is unacceptable and encourage them to think about how they could have managed a situation differently. Ongoing concerns about children's behaviour are discussed with parents to encourage and support consistent strategies to manage the concerns. Staff value and praise children's good behaviour and individual efforts, promoting children's

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

Overall, children are supported well, to prepare them for the next stage in their learning. As a result, they are developing the necessary skills that help them embrace new experiences with confidence. Children benefit from a varied range of play materials to support their learning and development, both indoors and outside. Toys and resources are stored well, to enable children to choose what they want to play with. This further supports their confidence and independence. However, at some routine times such as when children are waiting to go to bed after lunch, are not organised well. This results in children who are tired having to wait while bedding is put onto the beds. Staff support children to manage their own personal needs, relative to their age. Older children readily take themselves to the toilet and younger ones are supported through potty training. All children readily wash their hands before eating and after toileting. Children are offered

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

healthy snacks and a balanced, nutritious hot meal at lunchtime. All children have lunch together in an upstairs room, where staff and children sit together and lunchtime is promoted as a social time. Children have ready access to fresh drinking water at all times. Staff support children to help themselves to the jug of water and younger children readily tell staff when they are thirsty. Children are encouraged to play outdoors, as part of an active and healthy lifestyle. Children who are based in upstairs rooms are supported to learn to manage the stairs safely. Their awareness of safety is further supported through staff helping children to understand how to keep themselves and others safe. For example, they talk to children about how to carry scissors safely so that they do not injure themselves or others.

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provision

The owner is also the manager of the nursery. She understands her responsibility in meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Recruitment procedures for new staff are followed, ensuring that those working with children are suitable to do so. A record is maintained of suitability checks and children are never left alone with anyone whose suitability has not been verified. A system of supervision is established to help identify the strengths of staff and plan for their professional development. At each of these meetings staff sign to confirm there have been no changes to their suitability. Staff are aware of the signs and symptoms of abuse, to help them recognise when children may be at risk. They know how to report concerns in line with Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures. The nursery premises are safe. Necessary steps are taken to limit risks so that children can play safely indoors and outside.

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provision

The owner and staff are committed to continuous improvement. As a result, an action plan for improvement is in place that is challenging but achievable. The action plan is reviewed to judge the impact of changes on children's care and the quality of their learning experiences. The owner is careful to ensure that the views of staff are sought when considering changes to the nursery. For example, she sought their views about changes to the garden. As a result, a mud kitchen has been introduced to the garden, supporting children's play and allowing for the messy, creative and sensory experiences that can be difficult to provide indoors. A suggestions box is available for parents to post their views and the owner is considering more formal questionnaires in the future, to seek the views of all parents.

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provision

Staff are enthusiastic and motivated. This is mostly a new staff team that has been put in place since the nursery was re-registered to its current owner in 2014. The learning and development requirements are monitored effectively. For example, changes have recently been made to how planning, observation and assessment is recorded, to promote consistency across the nursery and ensure that children's individual learning needs are met. However, staff do not always have sufficient information about children's starting points, on entry to the nursery. Although they have informal discussions with parents about children's routines, likes and interests, these are not recorded to ensure that all staff working with the child are aware of them. Daily diaries are maintained for younger children, but are not consistently completed to ensure that necessary information is readily available to parents, especially if their child is collected by someone else. Despite this,

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provision

parents report that staff are friendly and approachable and that their children enjoy coming to this nursery. Staff work in partnership with others who provide care and learning for the children, so that children can be effectively supported to make the best progress that they can.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY473330 Local authority Norfolk Inspection number 956195 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 50 Number of children on roll 56 Name of provider Frances Barbara Rogers Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 07584288748

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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

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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