Meadow Nursery

Meadow Nursery Millmead Children's Centre, Dane Valley Road, MARGATE, Kent, CT9 3RU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/09/2014 21/05/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 3 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

 A well-established key person system helps children to form secure attachments. This means that staff are able to address children's individual care needs well.  Children are effectively safeguarded, because staff are constantly vigilant and are deployed very well to provide good supervision.  Clear self-evaluation systems show there is a continuous programme of improvement to provide good quality care for all children.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Children have fewer opportunities to see the written word in the outdoor environment and extend their literacy and communication.  Staff supervision and monitoring lacks focus in some aspects and this impacts on the consistency of teaching.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed staff and spoke to them at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including children's developmental records, observations and planning.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector sampled some policies and procedures and risk assessment records.  The inspector spoke to parents about their experiences at the nursery.

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Information about the setting

Meadow Nursery is part of the Millmead Children's Centre. The centre opened in 2003, and re-registered under new management in 2006. The Children's Centre is situated in a large residential area on the outskirts of Margate, Kent. The nursery operates from two playrooms and there are two secure outdoor play areas. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm for 49 weeks of the year. They are registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary part of the Childcare Register. There are currently 74 children on roll aged from two to under five years. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for two, three, and four year olds. The nursery supports children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, and also supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 24 staff; this includes the manager, deputy and an administrative assistant. Most staff hold an appropriate early years qualifications at National Vocational Qualification level 2 and above. The manager is studying for a foundation degree in early years. 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:

 expand the use of signs in the outdoor environment to support children to learn that words have meanings

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

 develop the monitoring of staff to ensure that the quality of teaching is consistent amongst the team.

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who attend

Staff provide children with a well-resourced and stimulating environment that covers all areas of learning. The children are eager to explore the nursery and immediately engage with the activities on offer. Most staff have a good understanding of the individual learning needs of the children, and plan activities based on the children's next stage of development and interests. Staff provide the children with a variety of both adult let and child initiated experiences. They listen to the children and make use of spontaneous events. For example, staff pause a cutting activity to view the snails some of the children have collected and brought in from the garden. Staff extend the activity further by talking to the children about the different sizes, as well as how to handle the snails carefully. Staff develop children's knowledge of the world around them, as well as mathematical concepts as they compare sizes and count. Most staff make effective use of open-ended questions

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who attend

to encourage the children to join in conversations and expand their vocabulary. The children particularly enjoy the interactive white board and excitedly inform the staff that the squares drawn look like windows. Consequently, children are using their imaginations to extend their own activities.

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who attend

Staff regularly record children's achievements, using photographs, written observations and children's work mounted in their learning journeys. They evaluate the observations and use them to plan focused experiences and activities. Parents and children enjoy sharing the learning journeys and adding photographs from home, which staff use to enhance the planning further. Staff are efficient and professional in creating individual play plans for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those learning English as a second language, to ensure they receive the right support. Staff display an understanding and sensitivity in their guidance and interaction with children. They make all children's learning fun and use resources that reflect their development needs and arouse their imaginations. For example, by painting and mark making with chalks on the ground as well as banging out a rhythm on the drum. The children have many

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who attend

opportunities to develop an interest in literacy with signs around the rooms as well as the good selection of books on offer. However, the use of signs is not as abundant in the garden area. The children enjoy the large open space to run around in, as well as cosy tents where they sit and chat with friends and staff. The sensory garden is a focal point, with a range of textures and sounds to stimulate the children's senses, as well as enabling the children to investigate to see what bugs they can find. This helps children's communication and language development by encouraging regular conversations throughout their time at the nursery. The staff enable the children to learn about their own and other cultures by celebrating a variety of festivals. All children clearly enjoy and benefit from their time at the nursery.

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who attend

Staff make effective use of the settling-in procedures to develop secure relationships with parents and children from their initial meetings at nursery. The key-person gathers relevant information from the parents at these meetings to learn about the children's interests and capabilities. They use this information to tailor the provision to meet the children's individual needs. As a result, children settle well and activities are sufficiently challenging to involve and motivate the children to learn.

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

The management and staff make an exceptional contribution to the safeguarding and well-being of all children at the nursery. They make effective use of the key person system to increase children's feelings of trust and safety. The children continuously benefit from the valued relationships they are developing with the adults who care for them. The children confidently explore and investigate the nursery knowing that a member of staff is close by. The children who have recently moved rooms eagerly find their previous key- person for a cuddle before happily going back to play. All children behave extremely well and are developing their personal and social skills by playing together, taking turns and sharing. They enjoy helping clean the interactive white board, as well as tidying up resources.

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

Staff are very intuitive and deploy themselves well, therefore guaranteeing someone is nearby if the children need them. They are positive role models, thanking the children for their help, recognising and praising their efforts and achievements. Children's understanding of how to keep themselves safe is excellent. They carry scissors correctly and explain to staff that they have to remind mummy at home, so she does not hurt herself. Children are learning how to keep themselves safe in an emergency, for example, they regularly practise evacuating the building. The children benefit from playing in an extraordinarily well equipped environment. They are able to access additional resources from the low-level storage units to extend their activities. This helps promote their independence and decision making skills from an early age. Children are well prepared for school and the new challenges they might experience.

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

Staff provide the children with fresh drinking water and teach them about the importance of a nutritious diet. They provide the children with carefully planned snacks, which include a selection of fruit, pancakes and yogurt. Meal times are a social occasion where the children sit down in groups to enjoy a hot meal or have a packed lunch prepared at home. Children serve themselves at meal times; however, staff are on hand to assist them. They are encouraged to use a knife and fork and help to clean their plate after they have finished. This promotes the children's development of self-care skills and shows them how to develop healthy habits for the future. Staff also ensure they teach the children how to wash their hands before eating, as well as after using the toilet. This means they are learning how to become more independent as they develop important life skills.

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

Children relish the opportunities they have to enhance their physical development in the expansive outdoor play area. They climb and explore on the tyres as well as competing in games, for example using hoops. There are robust systems in place to manage any accidents at the nursery and this demonstrates that staff have an extremely high regard for children's safety. Staff extend the children's opportunities to enjoy the fresh air; they go on walks to the allotment to see how their vegetables are growing as well as take rides on buses to visit local parks and shops. This helps the children develop a healthy lifestyle.

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provision

The management are committed to providing a high quality service for all families. They guarantee the safety of children by adopting stringent security procedures, checking gates and doors are securely locked at all times, to ensure that children cannot leave the building unsupervised. Staff check all visitors' identity before requiring them to sign in. All staff have a good understanding of their role in safeguarding children and are aware of the policies and procedures to follow in relation to child protection. As a result of this secure and safe environment, children feel happy and are motivated to learn and make good progress. The management have effective arrangements in place to implement the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The manger, with the support of staff, reviews and adapts the environment regularly to underpin self-evaluation and improvement systems. Consistent monitoring checks ensure that staff record children's

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provision

progress and identify appropriate next steps in their development. Children, including those who are receiving support from specialist services, enjoy being here, and show confidence in staff who successfully enhance their self-reliance and progress.

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provision

Robust recruitment and vetting procedures are in place to ensure all staff working on the premises are suitable to do so. Supportive induction procedures ensure that staff understand the policies and procedures and effectively incorporate these into their practice. The manager does monitor the staff's interactions with children; however, systems are not sufficiently robust to guarantee consistency in some of the adults teaching skills. Most staff have undertaken paediatric first aid training to enable them to treat any minor accidents children may have. Risk assessments are carried out and are reviewed regularly to ensure children enjoy a safe, secure play and learning environment.

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provision

The managers and staff work extremely well together as a team, creating a friendly, secure and welcoming environment. They have formed strong partnerships with parents who state that the staff are always approachable and ready to listen. Parents benefit from regular verbal communications with their child's key-person as well as meetings that are more formal. Staff complete the progress check for children who are two years old and spend time sharing information with parents and health visitors. The nursery receives support from professionals based at the children's centre, to improve outcomes for the children and their families. The Children's Centre also support staff to access training to enhance their professional development.

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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 EY330525 Local authority Kent Inspection number 987829 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 48 Number of children on roll 74 Name of provider Millmead Children's Centre Partnership Ltd Date of previous inspection 21/05/2012 Telephone number 01843 282247

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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

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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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