House of Eden

House of Eden Aycliffe Village Primary School, North Terrace, Aycliffe, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, DL5 6LG

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/08/2014 03/03/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 1 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

 There are effective partnerships with parents, ensuring relevant information about children's learning and care is shared successfully.  Children are protected from harm as staff understand and meet the safeguarding requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.  The outdoor environment provides a range of activities, including opportunities for physical exploration and socialisation.  Children are supported to behave appropriately and to develop kind and caring relationships.

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It is not yet good because

 The quality of teaching is inconsistent and the activities provided are not always matched to children's emerging needs and interests. Consequently, children's progress is not as good as it could be.  Staff are not effectively supported through robust supervision. There is a lack of focus on developing teaching skills to improve outcomes for children.  The systems for self-evaluation, including the monitoring of the educational programmes, lack rigour and do not include clear and challenging targets for improvement.

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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 activities in the indoor and outdoor learning environment.  The inspector spoke to parents to obtain their views on the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation, including children's learning journeys, staff planning, qualifications and suitability checks and nursery policies.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Information about the setting

House of Eden registered in 2005 and is on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from within Aycliffe Village Primary School in Aycliffe, County Durham and has the use of two rooms and an enclosed outdoor area. The setting employs five staff, including the manager, to work directly with the children. Of these, all hold relevant qualifications at level 3. The setting is open each weekday, from 8am until 6pm, for 51 weeks of the year. There are currently 48 children on roll, of whom 23 are in the early years age range. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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must:

 enhance the quality of teaching across the setting and ensure that activities are sufficient to cover all areas of learning, and meet the emerging needs and interests of all children

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must:

 develop the processes for staff supervision, appraisal and professional development to ensure, that they provide coaching and support for staff to improve their skills and impact positively on children's learning.

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

 improve the quality and focus of self-evaluation to ensure that it is accurately targets weakness in practice and informs clear and challenging priorities for the future.

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who attend

Children enjoy participating in a range of planned and freely chosen activities and experiences, both indoors and outdoors. They make full use of the safe, enclosed garden where there is a covered space for creative activities and a range of levels and surfaces to explore and play. Children enjoy climbing up the grassy slope and tumbling down doing forward rolls, developing their physical skills. There is a stimulating conversation area with a range of resources and experiences to encourage children to communicate and staff have constructed a stage where children like to perform plays and re-create favourite stories. This promotes their creativity and allows them to use their imagination. A large growing area provides fresh fruit and vegetables, which staff use to engage children in cooking and tasting activities. Children freely explore the area, as staff talked to them about the vegetables and help them to pick and taste tomatoes from the mini-greenhouse.

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who attend

This helps the children to develop a love of the outdoors and increases their understanding of the world. However, staff do not always make the most of learning opportunities. Teaching skills across the setting are variable and some staff miss valuable teaching opportunities by only supervising children's play as opposed to purposefully engaging with them.

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who attend

Staff plan a range of activities and experiences for the children and try to follow their interests. For example, a child's love of football was extended by providing creative materials in shapes that would roll and as a result, he was willing and able to explore the materials more confidently. However, staff are not always successful in providing activities that meet all children's needs and in particular, access to a range of stimulating activities and experiences to meet the needs and interests of the youngest children are not always available. As a result, some children are unable to become deeply involved in some activities as they are not pitched appropriately. For example, children have recently shown an interest in pirates and were make treasure chests by, constructing and decorating boxes, filling them with jewellery made from foil and other shiny materials. Children are able to help themselves to materials, such as packets, boxes, and tape from the selection

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who attend

available and staff are on hand to help and to demonstrate new techniques, such as rolling foil to make a bracelet. However, some staff do not support younger children enough and as a result, they struggle with the activity. Consequently, they become disinterested and their learning is not extended.

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who attend

Staff gather information from parents and use this alongside their own observations of children to assess their development and to plan for their next steps in learning. Partnerships with parents are secure and they are provided with information about the setting and the activities their child is offered. Parents are encouraged to play an active role in their children's learning by, verbally sharing information about experiences at home and by viewing and discussing their children's development records. Key persons verbally share information with parents on a daily basis. They are also offered planned review meetings which ensures parents have clarity about their children's time in the setting and can review their learning and development progress. Parents are also encouraged to get involved with their child's learning. For example, they help with the garden by offering seeds, plants and expertise, thereby taking an active role in the development of the

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

Children appear happy and relaxed in the nursery environment. Most settle quickly and those requiring a little reassurance are given time and gentle encouragement to join in. Key persons follow an effective settling-in procedure to make children and parents feel comfortable and parents play an active role in this process. Parents share relevant information about their child's likes and dislikes, which helps provide a clear picture of their interests and their home environment. This informs an initial assessment of their child's capabilities and enables staff to understand children's backgrounds. Children behave well in the nursery as they develop a clear understanding of the rules and boundaries. Staff sensitively and kindly deal with any minor disagreements, encouraging children to share and to be thoughtful of each other's needs. These boundaries help children to learn to behave in ways that maintain their safety and that of others. Staff act

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

as good role models, speaking and listening to each other in a professional manner. Children receive praise and encouragement from the adults caring for them which raises their self-esteem and confidence. Those children who need to rest or sleep are able to do so in a quiet corner with cushions and rugs. The nursery environment is safe and secure and staff carry out daily checks to look for risks and hazards. This means that the children are safe and feel secure. Staff are appropriately trained in first aid and there is always a person in the close vicinity to administer first aid should a child need it.

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

Children enjoy a range of healthy and nutritious snacks and meals during their nursery day. During snack time children enjoy crackers with butter and a choice of milk, water or juice. The staff support them sensitively, encouraging and promoting their developing independence, as they try to spread butter onto their crackers before choosing their own cup from a range of bright colours available. Children have free access to outdoors throughout the day, enjoying fresh air and a range of physical exercise opportunities. They enjoy balancing on wooden planks or climbing steps and sliding down a pole, some reaching high to extend their journey. Children also enjoy the large sand-pit, raking, digging for treasure and filling and carrying buckets. They show independence when they are outside, which promotes their growing confidence.

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provision

Children are adequately safeguarded because staff demonstrate knowledge of their responsibilities for the safety and welfare of children. All staff have attended safeguarding training and are aware of what to do if they are concerned that a child has been, or is likely to be, harmed. There are a range of policies and procedures in place to keep children safe and all staff are vetted to ensure that they are suitable to work with children. The recruitment of new staff includes appropriate suitability checks and an induction process which supports both new staff and students to understand their roles and responsibilities. All required documentation to meet children's welfare needs in place. This includes procedures for the administration of medication and for recording any accidents or incidents. Consequently, children's care needs are suitably met.

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provision

The manager understands her role and responsibilities in relation to meeting the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. There is a tracking system in place to monitor children's achievements in their learning and development. A baseline assessment is made once children are settled, using information gathered in nursery and from parents, and further assessments are made each term. The manager monitors all children's learning, evaluating written summaries of children's attainment and progress to identify any concerns that require intervention. This helps to close the gap in attainment for children who are falling behind their peers. There is also a system to monitor the quality of teaching through observations of staff practice. The manager routinely observes staff interactions with children and seeks to ensure the quality and effectiveness of the educational programme. However, this is not sufficiently vigorous to

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provision

ensuring good quality teaching across the nursery. Some staff display poorer teaching skills than others and fail to provide activities and experiences that engage all children.

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provision

The management team carry out staff supervision and appraisals. However, targets for improvement are not formally identified and there is insufficient focus on support and coaching to drive up standards of teaching. Staff are able to access training provided by the local authority, with staff choosing training and development opportunities that interest them. This does not ensure that training and development opportunities taken by staff impact positively on the quality of teaching and subsequently, on children's learning. Furthermore, there is no robust system to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the nursery, and the management team have not identified clear and measurable targets for improvement which are based on the learning and development needs of the children who attend. This means that there is no way to accurately demonstrate that any changes made to the provision have a positive impact on outcomes for children. While the manager talks

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provision

about her aspirations to improve the nursery, there is no evidence of a clear and focused strategy to do so and little evidence of the management team working together with parents and other stake-holders, to drive up standards. Partnerships with parents are otherwise in place. Several parents spoken to during the inspection complimented the nursery and stated that they felt that their children enjoyed their time in the setting and that they find staff approachable and welcoming. Staff also support children during times of transition by providing information about the child's learning and development to the receiving school or setting. Many children move into the on-site primary school and staff gradually introduce the children to the school by arranging visits and talking about the move with them. The head teacher complimented the nursery on the quality of the information they provide, which means that school staff can effectively plan to meet the

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provision

children's individual needs and help them to settle quickly.

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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 EY301405 Local authority Durham Inspection number 848885

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 45 Number of children on roll 48 Name of provider House of Eden Limited Date of previous inspection 03/03/2009 Telephone number 01325 313513

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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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