Happy Days NurseryOfsted inspection, 28 Aug 2014

Happy Days Nursery 1 Eastmoor Road, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF1 3RY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/08/2014 03/03/2014

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 4 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

 Children are well supported as they move up to a different room within nursery and then on to school. Parents are kept informed and this ensures that children are supported and prepared for their next stages in learning.  Staff have formed strong bonds of attachment and interact warmly with their key children. Consequently, children are happy and demonstrate a secure attachment with their key person.  The manager ensures that safeguarding requirements are in place and that all staff can demonstrate them in practice. This means that children are kept safe at all times.  Children behave well because staff understand how to promote good behaviour.

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It is not yet good because

 The manager does not analyse data collected from staff assessment of children's learning to effectively identify groups of children who are underachieving, which means that gaps are not closing rapidly enough.  Staff in the pre-school room do not always provide sufficient challenge in adult-led activities for children, to ensure that they make more rapid progress towards the early learning goals.  Staff do not always extend children's learning through asking questions that do not have an expected reply or give children enough time to think about how to respond to the questions that they are asked.

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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 toured the premises and observed activities in the main rooms and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation, including staff's files, children's files, policies and records of planning and assessments.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the manager and spoke to staff throughout the inspection, as appropriate.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took into account parents views through discussion and written feedback.

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Information about the setting

Happy Days Nursery was registered in 1997 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is privately owned. The nursery operates from the ground floor of a large detached house and is situated close to Wakefield town centre. They also provide an out of school club, which is situated in a portable building at the rear of the property. The out of school club has its own entrance. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is an area available for outdoor play. There are 58 children on roll, all of which are in the early years age group. The nursery employs 12 members of childcare staff. Of these, 11 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and above, including one with Early Years Professional status.

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must:

 use the information gathered, from tracking children's progress more effectively, to collate data to identify if any gaps in progress can be attributed to specific groups of children, so that practice is more sharply focused on raising the quality of teaching and outcomes for children

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must:

 ensure that adult-led activities consistently take into account each child's stage of development so that they provide suitable challenge to support children to make more rapid progress towards the early learning goals.

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

 improve staff understanding of how to consistently improve the quality of their interactions with children, for example, by modelling and supporting staff to use questions that encourage children's thinking and reasoning skills.

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who attend

Staff have an appropriate knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and use this to help children make suitable progress. They have introduced a more informative point of entry record since the last inspection. Consequently, staff are beginning to gain more accurate starting points, in partnership with parents. Staff have developed ways to offer further support to children who speak English as an additional language, such as inviting parents to support with translating words to favourite songs and rhymes. They have made changes to how they document observations and assessment of children's learning. This is beginning to inform more effective monitoring of their key children's progress. Assessments of children's learning include the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years, which is shared with parents. Staff meet with teachers from local schools and complete a

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who attend

summary of children's progress to share with them. This supports the move to school and helps to prepare children for their next stage in learning.

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who attend

Prime areas of learning are suitably supported. Babies are supported in acquiring new words and sounds, as staff note what they are interested in and repeat the word or sound. Staff follow older children's lead and join in discussions, for example, when they excitedly discuss their imminent move to school or a popular challenge that involves a bucket of ice water. They listen attentively and sustain the conversation. However, staff do not always extend children's learning through asking questions that will challenge their ideas or give children enough time to think about how to respond to questions that they ask. Consequently, children's opportunities to develop thinking and reasoning skills are sometimes limited. Staff share photographs of water that is frozen and discuss with children how that might have happened, as a good introduction to an activity. However, when they go outside, to explore the concept further, the children have to wait too long to

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who attend

have a turn because there is only one bowl of ice. This means that children do not always have opportunities to find out things for themselves, as some activities are not sufficiently thought through. Personal, social and physical development are well supported in the indoor and outdoor environment. As a result, children develop some of the characteristics of effective learning as they actively explore their surroundings.

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who attend

Literacy is well supported, as staff offer daily opportunities for children to hear and explore a variety of sounds. Older children confidently write their names in a variety of different materials. They say the initial letter sound in their name and take an interest in each other's names. Toddlers gently explore bugs in the garden before being carefully supported to 'take them home to their tree'. Mathematics areas have recently been set up in all rooms and children eagerly explore the resources on offer. Toddlers, for example, explore a variety of different shaped boxes that they use to fill and empty and begin to group resources according to their shape or size. This means that children are acquiring the basic skills they need to be ready for school because staff have regard to all areas of learning and development.

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

Key persons throughout the nursery have formed strong bonds of attachment and interact warmly with their key children. Consequently, children are happy and demonstrate a secure attachment with their key person. Staff have positive relationships with parents and regular discussions about children's care are integral to practice. This means that children are emotionally assured and ready to learn. Staff have recently reviewed how children move from one room to another and from pre-school to school. The changeover between rooms within the nursery is a gradual process, as staff arrange several sessions for children to spend time in new rooms. This means that they grow accustomed to new routines and other staff before they move permanently. Children are further supported in their move on to their next room in the nursery or to school through a transition diary. This helps the new key person plan relevant activities to support children emotionally, so

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

that they are prepared to enjoy learning in their new environment.

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

Children's behaviour is good because staff have a consistent approach to promoting good behaviour. Consequently, children involved in a disagreement over the same resource are soon supported in resolving the situation. Staff promote self-esteem and confidence through positive words of praise and encouragement. Children demonstrate that they know that what they do is valued. They are encouraged to feel good about their achievements, as displays confidently state, 'Look what we can do'. Older children in the outdoor area are good role models to the younger children and demonstrate how to keep themselves and other's safe as they climb and negotiate obstacles.

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

Children, parents and visitors are greeted by a welcoming and stimulating environment. Staff support children's learning and development by presenting a good range of resources in a way that invites children to explore and investigate independently. This supports children in extending their own play inside and outdoors. Daily outdoor play is enjoyed by all children who learn about the effects of exercise on their bodies. In the event of inclement weather, a large area of the outdoor area is under a canopy so that children can continue to benefit from fresh air. Staff observe how children use resources in each area of learning and add additional resources to promote further learning. However, resources are not always used to benefit all children during planned activities so that they can make rapid progress. Healthy meals are prepared on the premises and children have independent access to drinks throughout the day. This promotes and supports children's

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

health and understanding of healthy foods. Children are encouraged to complete self-care tasks for themselves and this is developing their independence.

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provision

Since the last inspection and subsequent monitoring visit, the provider has made good progress in addressing the weaknesses raised. The manager has reviewed procedures to check the suitability of staff working with children. She has attended recruitment and selection training to support her understanding of safe recruitment procedures. As a result, an effective recruitment system is now in place in order to check that people employed to work with the children are suitable to do so. The manager understands her responsibility for keeping children safe and has, for example, recently organised safeguarding training for the full staff team. This means that she actively supports staff who can then demonstrate that they have a clear understanding of their responsibility to safeguard children. Consequently, children are kept safe at all times.

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provision

The manager reviews and evaluates children's learning and development within the nursery. She welcomes weekly support from the local authority, which has resulted in devising new assessment procedures to monitor progress. However, the manager is not yet using this information to effectively identify groups of children who are underachieving. Consequently, gaps in children's learning are not closing quickly enough and children make suitable rather than good progress in their learning and development. The manager continues to develop peer observations to share best practice and improve the quality of teaching. Staff report that this is supporting their practice but it is not sharply focused so that, for example, all staff are supported to provide sufficient challenge in adult-led activities and to use effective questioning techniques.

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provision

The manager has implemented a comprehensive action plan to address the issues raised at the last inspection. This is displayed in the office and in rooms so that all staff are aware of the actions and were able to discuss them during inspection. The manager addresses actions through focussed improvement plans that are regularly evaluated. The staff work in partnership with other providers and agencies to promote continuity of care and learning for children. For example, staff attend transition meetings at the nearby schools. They work with other agencies, such as speech and language therapists in order to secure appropriate intervention for children with identified needs. Parent partnerships are sound and activities, such as craft mornings, include parents in nursery life. The written feedback and discussions with parents suggests that parents value these sessions. Working partnerships with parents, other providers and agencies help children prepare for

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provision

future learning, provide consistency and help them feel more positive and secure about their next stage in learning.

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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 EY272730 Local authority Wakefield Inspection number 973088

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 70 Number of children on roll 58 Name of provider Soheir El Abidi Date of previous inspection 03/03/2014 Telephone number 01924 332111

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Type of provision

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises, which are usually the childminder’s own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children,

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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