Little Willows Day Nursery

Little Willows Day Nursery Powlett Road, Bathwick, Bath, BA2 6QH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 27/08/2014 26/11/2010

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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

 Children make good progress from their starting points because staff provide rich learning opportunities through play, and playful teaching, across all areas of learning.  Children are safeguarded well as their ongoing safety is given high priority. All staff fully understand their role and responsibility in protecting children.  Children are settled and content because all staff provide a caring and nurturing environment that promotes children's emotional well-being effectively.  Partnership with parents is good. This results in them playing an active part in the life of the setting and promotes effective sharing of information, which fully benefits children's ongoing care and learning.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Children do not always have sufficient opportunity to consider practical mathematical concepts within their play and activities.  Staff do not always fully encourage children's developing self-help and personal independence skills during everyday routines.

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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 the activities in all rooms indoors and outdoors.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the provider, manager, members of the staff team and children at appropriate times throughout the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined a selection of documentation relating to the children's safeguarding, welfare and developmental progress, staff suitability, general info and records, children's learning journey files and the nursery's self-evaluation.  The inspector invited the manager to undertake a joint observation.  The inspector took account of parents' comments on the day.

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Information about the setting

Little Willows Day Nursery is privately owned. It was registered in 2010 and operates from a purpose built building near the centre of Bath, in Bath and NE Somerset. Children have access to secure enclosed outdoor play areas. The setting is open each weekday from 7.30 am to 6.30 pm for 51 weeks of the year. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are 161 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age range. The nursery gets funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children who speak English as an additional language. There are 19 members of staff, 17 of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications to at least Level two. Of these, one has Qualified Teaching Status and Early Years Professional Status.

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

 further extend the range of activities and practical opportunities for children to consider mathematical concepts, such as, weight, measures and capacity in their play

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

 enhance children's independence and self-help skills during everyday routines, for example, by encouraging children to be more involved in preparing their own snack.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is good. Staff have a good knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage, and the areas of learning. Staff carry out detailed observations of the children as they play and use these effectively to plan activities that challenge and support children's next steps in learning. Staff monitor children's progress through regular planning meetings, which helps them to identify any gaps in children's learning. Each child's key person works closely with parents to support children's learning from the start. Ongoing discussion and sharing of children's learning profiles helps to ensure that parents remain involved and up to date about their child's progress. Parents meet with key staff to discuss their child's development and learning, and help complete the progress check for two-year-old children. This effectively promotes a two-way relationship that promotes a cohesive approach to enhancing children's development.

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who attend

Children's communication and language is supported very well because staff use positive teaching methods, such as giving clear explanations, ask challenging questions and introduce new vocabulary and ideas. All children have ready access to a wide selection of good quality story and picture books. For example, staff sit with younger children while outside and look at a book about animals. Younger children get very excited and join in as they point out the different animals that they recognise. This helps to develop children's recognition of different animals, as well as, colours and size as they tell staff that the 'sheep is white and has a fluffy coat'. Older children sit to listen to stories that they have chosen from the book area, and repeat the story about the zebra to the member of staff. Staff use good questioning techniques while reading the book, encouraging children to think about the colours of the zebra and where they live. Children receive lots of praise as

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who attend

they reply with the correct answer. This helps to develop older children's recognition of colours and understanding of the world in preparation for their future learning. Staff support all children sensitively to achieve their potential. For instance, they use sign language for those children who have less developed speech skills. This helps in reducing younger children's frustration and upset when communicating their needs before their spoken language is fully developed.

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who attend

Children's early writing skills are encouraged through a variety of activities. For example, toddlers enjoy making marks on large pieces of paper on table tops outside and babies are encouraged to make marks in gloop, flour and other substances. Older children recognise their own names in print and are aware of the initial sounds in their names. Younger children access the pencil crayons and confidently draw with them, telling the staff the colours they are using are 'green' and 'blue'. This promotes their manipulative skills and recognition of colours. Children independently put on their aprons before spreading glue on paper. They put different shapes and textures of paper on to their card, and then get excited as they sprinkle the glitter over. Staff remind children to share and take turns. This helps to ensure that children develop their expressive arts and design and social skills. Staff provide good opportunities for children to seek patterns, count, sort and match

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who attend

through a range of games, puzzles and construction toys. Staff reinforce shape and helps children count during activities. For example, children make faces using play dough and staff support children to understand words, such as circle, cylinder, and star, and encourage children to count well. However, on occasions staff provides fewer opportunities for children to experience weighing, measuring, and capacity through activities such as the sand and water. Therefore, they do not consistently extend their already good learning in this area.

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who attend

Children have opportunities to use technology. For example, children use mobile phones in their role play and explore simple cause and effect toys. Babies enjoy the heuristic area where they feel the different textures of natural materials and make lots of noise with the metal pans and colanders. Babies' exploration and investigation of natural materials is enhanced well by staff. For example, staff describe the textures of these, such as squidgy and prickly, encouraging babies to learn new words and link words to objects. Staff also example what things do, such as the nail brush, as they say 'Brush, brush, brush' and talk about how soft the bristles feel. These activities stimulate and interest the children and provide opportunities for them to be positively ready for the next stage of their learning. The outdoor area is well designed to offer children a wide range of enjoyable activities. These include climbing on equipment, such as, the large climbing frame with slide or

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who attend

bouncing on the trampoline. Children enjoy riding bicycles and tricycles, running up and down slopes, and crawling through tunnels. This contributes to the children's good physical development. The positive level of support and learning provided for all the children ensures that they are ready to move on to school when the time comes.

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

Children are confident and self-assured from a very early age in the nursery. This stems from the bonds and attachments they make with their main carers. The well-thought-out key person system provides children with continuity of care. An example of this is the provision of a 'buddy' key person for each child so that personal care needs and information sharing with parents meets children's individual needs. This helps children's separation from their parents, puts children at ease, builds attachments and promotes their self-esteem. Key persons are keen to share the children's achievements with parents, so when babies pull themselves up to standing for the first time, staff record this fantastic development on children's daily feedback sheet which parents receive at the end of each day.

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

Children learn to behave very well because staff act as good role models for children to follow and provide secure boundaries. This helps to ensure children know what is expected of them. For instance, when a member of staff asks a group of older children what they need to do when coming together on the carpet for story time they respond promptly with 'sit on our bottoms, so the person behind can see'. Staff sensitively and positively resolve any minor quarrels between children. As a result, children learn the behavioural expectations of the nursery and about consequences. Staff conduct a daily check of the premises to ensure it is safe for children to explore. Children demonstrate they feel safe by playing and exploring in the nursery environment. Staff support children to understand and take acceptable risks. For example, children are seen confidently climbing on balance equipment outdoors and negotiating obstacles with their bikes and

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

cars. Staff promote children's good health very well. They encourage lots of fresh air for children, with free access throughout the day to the outdoor area, where they play with a very good selection of resources. They learn to balance, jump up and down, play in the sand pit and ride on a variety of bicycles. This ensures children benefit from a good level of physical development.

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

Children of all ages have a very good understanding of the importance of self-care, as they independently wash their hands before having meals and after going to the toilet. Staff display child-friendly posters of instructions of how to wash hands throughout the setting. This ensures that children learn about good hygiene procedures. Babies receive lots of cuddles. They can rest and sleep in their own cots, as and when they need, and effective nappy changing procedures are implemented. Children's health and dietary needs are effective. The nursery chef cooks nutritious, well-balanced meals each day. Children learn about healthy lifestyles through a broad range of nutritious meals and snacks of meat, vegetables, fruit, toast and cheese. Mealtimes are sociable occasions and the children are keen to sit down to eat their snack and dinner. However, while this provides good opportunities for discussions, children are not always encouraged to play an active

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

role in their selection of snack or its preparation. To further enhance their already good self-help and personal independence skills.

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provision

The management team and staff demonstrate a strong commitment to meeting the learning and development requirements, and the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff are very aware of their roles and responsibilities in protecting children and extremely confident in their understanding of procedures they would follow if they have concerns about children in their care. All staff complete safeguarding training. There are clear and up-to-date safeguarding policies and procedures implemented to support them, which helps to safeguard children. The provider and manager fully understand their role in working with Ofsted and following their Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures. For example, the manager understands who the local authority safeguarding officer is, and the officer's role and responsibilities. Staff are fully versed with the whistle-blowing policy should they have any concerns regarding their

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provision

colleague's conduct. Therefore, there is a strong commitment to protecting children.

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provision

Established recruitment procedures mean that staff complete the required suitability checks before commencing at the nursery. Professional development is encouraged and staff have attended a variety of training courses. The provider and the manager have both attended a safer recruitment training course to enhance the quality of their staff team. Staff complete a thorough induction process to help them understand their responsibilities. This includes information about emergency evacuation, safeguarding, and their 'buddy' when working with children when they first start. Robust performance management helps to ensure the manager supports staff to develop their knowledge and skills. As a result, any under performance is promptly addressed. Senior staff mentor and monitor staff practice through peer appraisals, supervision observations and feedback, as well as holding frequent group and individual meetings with staff. Effective staff deployment

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provision

means children are cared for and taught by a key person and other adults whom they, and their families, know well. Staff take additional responsibility for individual roles within the setting, such as health and safety, safeguarding, special needs and behaviour management. This is developing the staff team's motivation and self-confidence and they are all actively striving towards improving the setting for all the children who attend. This clearly demonstrates the provision's continual capacity to improve.

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provision

The manager takes responsibility for overseeing the educational programme and ensuring its effective implementation. The manager monitors educational programmes and planning weekly to ensure they are consistent and precise and display an accurate understanding of all children's skills. Adult-led activities are implemented which are appropriate to individual children's interests, any additional needs are identified and their stage of development recognised. This helps to ensure children continue to make good progress in their learning. Parent's views are sought through discussion, open evenings and an open door policy where parents are welcomed into the nursery should they have time. Information gained is much valued. It is used and taken into account within the nursery's self- evaluation procedures. For example, staff, children and parents are listened to and their opinions and ideas are taken into consideration when enhancing the provision. This has

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provision

resulted in a good quality and highly motivated workforce that enhances the quality of the provision and the learning and development children make.

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provision

All parents spoken to at the time of the inspection comment extremely positively about the nursery, stating their children are happy and settled. They all commented on the friendly professional staff team and highlighted the excellent home-cooked food and the quality of the facilities provided by the nursery. Inclusive practice is very successful in this nursery The management team has good working relationships with health visitors and other professionals involved with individual children and families. This means that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported very successfully to achieve their full potential. The staff also shows a good commitment to liaising with local schools, and teachers are invited to come and meet the children in a familiar environment before they move into their care. This means children are supported well to manage such changes in their lives.

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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 EY413022 Local authority Bath & NE Somerset Inspection number 987051

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 66 Number of children on roll 161 Name of provider Little Willows Day Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 26/11/2010 Telephone number 01225 332296

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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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