1st Friends day nursery and creche Ltd

1st Friends Day Nursery and Creche Roko Health Clubs, Roko Gillingham, Will Adams Way, GILLINGHAM, Kent, ME8 6BY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 04/09/2014 18/10/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Staff have a well established key-person system and build good relationships with children ensuring that babies and children feel safe and secure.  Staff ensure that detailed planning is in place to effectively monitor, plan and make accurate assessments. This enables all ages of children to make good progress in their learning and development.  All staff ensure that effective strategies are in place to communicate closely with, include and value all parents, which fully promotes a partnership approach.  Safeguarding is a priority within the setting and risk assessments are thorough meaning that all children remain safe at all times.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff occasionally miss opportunities during snack times to further develop communication and social skills.  Staff sometimes miss opportunities to help children to make clear links between visual prompts and early letter recognition.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed the areas of the nursery that children use.  The inspector observed staff interacting with the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled written documentation, including children's progress reports, policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to children, gathered parents' views and spoke in depth with staff.  The inspector invited the manager to carry out a joint observation.

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Information about the setting

1st Friends Day Nursery and Crche registered in 2011. It is registered on the Early Years Register. It is one of three day nurseries owned and operated by 1st Friends Day Nursery Limited. The nursery and crche operates from Roko Health Club in Gillingham, Kent. The nursery is open each weekday from 7am to 7pm for 51 weeks of the year. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 25 children in the early years age range on roll. The nursery currently supports a number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The nursery also supports children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs nine staff, seven of which hold an appropriate early years qualification.

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

 extend opportunities for children to further develop communication and social skills during snack time

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

 extend opportunities for children to further develop early letter recognition through links to visual prompts.

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who attend

Staff demonstrate a good understanding and show dedication towards promoting children's learning and development, through detailed assessment and planning. They are a qualified and experienced team and demonstrate a good knowledge of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff provide a vast range of stimulating activities and experiences which are accessible to all children on a daily basis. For example, older children enjoy a market stall snack time, developing mathematical, language and independence, whilst babies enjoy a picnic snack at an age appropriate level, where staff respond to babbling and develop communication through stories and singing. However, staff occasionally miss opportunities to use resources to further promote clear links between visual prompts and early letter recognition. For example, staff inconsistently label resources, which does not enhance children's

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who attend

understanding that print carries meaning. Children are encouraged to make independent choices in their play, as they become curious, explore and actively learn.

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who attend

Staff plan achievable and challenging targets and next steps for all children using their interests, meaning that their individual needs are being met. As a result, all children make good progress and staff accurately track progress to enable them to clearly and promptly identify any potential learning gaps. Staff's effective planning strategies extend children's learning and engagement well. For example, staff enthusiastically tell a well-known story about a walk in the woods. They use props and materials to bring the story alive and extend children's imaginations through tones of voices, senses and actions.Younger babies are engaged in constant communication and singing, staff respond promptly to babies babbles, actions and smiles. Staff demonstrate good knowledge of their key children as they use babies preferences and routines to quickly settle and comfort them. Staff obtain general information regarding new children's interests and routines by liaising closely with

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who attend

parents. Staff use 'getting to know me' forms and initial observations to find out children's learning needs and identify accurate starting points. This supports a consistent approach between the nursery and home.

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who attend

Strong relationships with parents and outside professionals are established and good strategies are in place to maintain continuity in care for all children. Staff have regular meetings with parents to share children's learning and development. Parents are encouraged to take an active role in their children's development. For example, Dads have a stay and play Saturday on a monthly basis and staff send learning bags home to share ideas for developing areas of learning through sharing simple activities such as cutting. Staff invite parents to take the learning journals home on a regular basis and add their own comments about what their children like to do at home, include photographs and share news. This provides a consistency of care and an accurate overview of children's learning and development. Parents say they are well informed on children's progress and state 'the activities are well thought out and have meaning'

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who attend

Staff provide a wide range of resources and experiences, both in the indoor and outdoor learning environments, to stimulate and motivate children of all ages, helping them to make good progress. For example, children are encouraged to use their imagination in the garden building zoos with blocks and building resources and develop their understanding of the world through finding and investigating bugs. Babies experiment with pop up toys and explore sensory activities such as the bubble tube and interactive feeling boards. Children learn about shape and space as they build with large construction materials, and master the balancing beams and complete puzzles. They have good opportunities to use a variety of materials to experiment with marks developing their imagination and early writing skills. For example, children can daily choose paints, chalks, glue, sand, water and writing equipment. These activities support children to develop fine motor skills and hand

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who attend

Staff interact effectively with children overall giving good levels of communication to support children's language development during their play. Staff support children's learning and prepare them for their next stage by using thought provoking questions, such as, 'what do you think will happen if?' This challenges children's thinking and develops their thinking and problem-solving skills. Staff use consistently and effective facial expression, body language, eye contact and talking which helps extend all children's language and communication skills, regardless of the children's age and ability.

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

The passionate and dedicated staff team meet the needs of all individual children, by taking into account their specific needs and interests. The key-person system is well established and as a result, children develop strong and trusting relationships. This helps them develop a sense of belonging in the nursery and gives the children a feeling of safety and security. The key-person system is effective in helping children during periods of change such as, settling-in, moving rooms and getting ready for school. Children demonstrate good behaviour due to the consistent praise and positive reinforcement from staff.

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

Staff plan activities daily to cover all areas of development effectively. For example, children learn about keeping their bodies healthy and hydrated as they discuss healthy snack options and have free access to water as children explain that they are thirsty. Staff ensure babies routines are adhered too meaning their needs are being met. Staff are skilful in ensuring babies are comforted and settled using their routines and preferences meaning they develop a good level of well-being. Children independently and confidently wash their hands before snack and lunch and find their coats and shoes to access the outdoor areas. Children are encouraged to prepare their own snacks and choose their own fruit using a market stall role play, encouraging mathematical language and development. Snack supports children to develop good independence and self-care skills. However, staff sometimes miss opportunities to develop social skills during this time to further extend

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

children's communication and language skills. Children develop awareness of using equipment safely, such as knives for cutting fruit under close supervision. Staff are good role models. They sit with the children during activities such as play dough and creative experiments. Children are encouraged to problem solve independently, resulting in them resolving conflicts confidently. For example, they happily share resources without the prompting of staff. Children are well prepared for their next stage of learning for example going to school. They receive good levels of support to develop their understanding of everyday life skills during the experiences and learning opportunities that the routine offers on a daily basis.

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

Safeguarding is a high priority for all staff. Thorough daily and long-term risk assessments of the learning environments, outings and activities, are effectively in place and regularly reviewed. This ensures that all play areas are safe and secure. Staff carry walkie talkies into the garden to communicate to the settings management team promptly in the case of an emergency. Staff ensure that they are well deployed and all staff hold a relevant first aid qualification. Staff support children of all ages to identify and manage risk to help keep themselves and others safe. For example, children are encouraged to have an active part in accessing the garden safely, as a voice interactive book is used to highlight each process taken to access the garden safely for example 'the barriers are here to keep us safe' and 'we must walk holding hands'. Children regularly undertake fire evacuation drills developing their understanding and confidence to keep themselves out of danger. Children

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

have daily access to the secure outdoor area to enjoy fresh air and exercise. The garden is spacious and encourages children explore the outdoor environment, where they can climb on balancing beams, ride bikes, water their vegetable patch and make mud pies in the mud kitchen. This helps them to develop control and coordination of their bodies. Staff are well deployed in all areas of the nursery meaning the child-to-adult ratio is maintained at all times.

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provision

Management follow well thought out and detailed systems to ensure the safe recruitment of qualified, dedicated and experienced staff. A thorough induction system includes detailed reviews of policies, the safeguarding process and effective and meaningful planning. Staff demonstrate an extremely good knowledge and understanding of the nursery's policies. They are particularly confident of policies, procedures and contacts in relation to safeguarding. This promotes children's safety and well-being.

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provision

The management team has a good knowledge of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and effectively supports staff in meeting children's individual needs. They regularly observe and monitor staff practice to identify areas of focus regarding professional development, through regular meetings and supervisions. The management team routinely reviews children's learning journals to ensure staff track and plan for children's progress. All staff and parents are included in identifying areas of improvement to develop and build upon. The management team gathers, values and shares views through effective use of meetings, questionnaires, learning journeys, observations and two-way communication books. The staffing team demonstrates dedication and passion to continue to make positive improvements. There are clear future action plans in place. For example, management and staff have identified the importance of the learning

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provision

environments, so aim to develop and extend the garden further to provide children with an area for children to explore Forest school. Recent changes to the learning environments mean they are well organised, accessible and safe for children of all ages and ability.

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provision

Positive relationships are in place with other professionals including the local childcare support officer, local sure start centre and receiving schools. This provides a good support system and accurate information sharing to promoting effective consistency of care for all children. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or English as an additional language well through embedded strategies, such as visual prompts, key words and sharing of activities and information between the setting, home and other professionals. As a result, children with additional needs make good progress. Parents report positively on the support staff offer to help their children. They speak highly of the nursery, commenting 'I hope he enjoys school as much as nursery' and 'my son didn't speak any English when he started and now he speaks perfect English, that is only thanks to the staff and their time, they are passionate and dedicated, and I have nothing but

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provision

admiration and gratitude to all of the team'.

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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 EY423311 Local authority Medway Towns Inspection number 963423 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 25 Number of children on roll 27 Name of provider 1st Friends Day Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection 18/10/2013 Telephone number 01634 233348

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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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