Seesaws Penn

Seesaws Day Nursery 1 Riley Crescent, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV3 7DR

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Inspection date

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

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 Staff have a sound knowledge and understanding of how to effectively safeguard children.  Staff provide children with interesting and challenging indoor and outside learning environments. Children's independence and self-care skills are suitably promoted in the nursery. Consequently, teaching is satisfactory.  Partnerships with parents are promoted well. Staff obtain information about children to help settle them quickly and provide activities that will interest them. This supports children's emotional well-being.

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It is not yet good because

 Staff do not always support children's communication and language skills during daily routines and care practices.  Although most staff carry out routine assessments of children's learning, some do not always use these assessments to consistently monitor children's development. This means that some children's next steps in learning are not always clearly identified.  Staff do not always respond quickly to ensure that children's physical well-being is fully promoted during outdoor play.

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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 play and learning activities and spoke to staff and children indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with management and looked at and discussed a range of policies and procedures.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a selection of children's assessment files and progress tracking information and spoke to their key persons.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Information about the setting

Seesaws Day Nursery was registered in 1998 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is part of a chain of nurseries and is privately owned. The nursery operates from a detached house in Wolverhampton. It serves the immediate locality and also the surrounding areas. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round, from 7am to 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. Children have access to several enclosed outdoor play areas. There are currently 58 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age range. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for three- and four-year-old children. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. There are currently 10 staff working directly with the children. Of these, seven hold an early years qualification at level 3, two hold an early

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Information about the setting

years qualification at level 2 and one is unqualified. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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must:

 ensure all assessments are used accurately and frequently to monitor children's learning and development, so that any gaps in children's next steps in learning are clearly identified and targeted

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must:

 increase support for children's communication and language development, for example, by considering the use of comforters for babies during daily routines and altering the noise volumes in the pre-school room so that all children are listened to and become involved.

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

 establish good practices to ensure that children's health and well-being is fully promote during outdoor play and hot weather conditions.

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who attend

Staff have a sound knowledge and understanding of the learning requirements in the Early Years Foundations Stage. They use this knowledge to provide children with a suitable range of activities to cover most of the seven areas of learning. For example, children learn about looking after living things as they care for their pet rabbit. Staff encourage parents to become involved in this, as children take turns looking after the rabbit at weekends. Children's mathematical development is promoted through a wide range of activities both inside and outside. Children in the toddler room sit with staff and match shapes and numbers on a wooden clock. Children's physical development is fostered through large apparatus outside, which they happily climb on and explore. Pre-school children participate in regular phonics activities to develop their early reading skills. However, children's communication and language development is not always fully

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who attend

promoted at times. For example, staff in the baby room do not always discourage babies from suckling on comforters. This means that they are not given sufficient opportunities to communicate with staff by babbling and are not encouraged to experiment with sounds. Staff in the pre-school group are sometimes over exuberant in their delivery of activities, which causes the noise levels to be significantly raised in the room. This sometimes means that staff cannot always hear what quieter children are saying and are not able to fully support their communication and language skills. As a result, the quality of teaching is variable and means that children have the basic skills they need for their next stage of learning, such as school.

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who attend

Each child has their own individual folder, which contains various details from when children first start at the nursery. Children's starting points are identified by staff as they carry out observations of children's learning and development. Staff working with children under the age of three years ensure that children's next steps in their learning are clearly identified from regular observations and assessments of children's development. They have a sufficient knowledge of how to complete the progress check for children aged between the ages of two and three years. They know how to seek support for children who are need of additional help in their development. In contrast, staff in the pre-school room do not always use assessments of children's development to clearly identify any gaps in their learning. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or speak English as an additional language are appropriately supported in the nursery. This means

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who attend

that nearly all children are working within the typical range of development expected for their age. As a result, children make satisfactory progress in their learning.

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who attend

Parents are welcomed into the nursery. They are supplied with clear and informative information about the nursery's policies and procedures. Parents are encouraged to provide detailed information about their children's individual interests and routines on entry to the nursery. They complete an, All about me form and this is regularly updated in children's files. Staff share children's folders with parents at parent's evenings and if they have a concern over their children's development. Regular newsletters inform parents about special events and celebrations that they can become involved in. Consequently, parents are kept well informed of their children's learning and development.

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

Children are happy and content to be in this welcoming nursery. The key-person system is well embedded and this ensures that secure relationships are formed between children and their key person. Staff in the baby room offer babies lots of cuddles and close interactions to support their emotional well-being. Pre-school staff explain the purpose of visitors to older children so they understand their purpose and continue to feel secure. Parents, spoken to, comment that their children are 'extremely happy and enjoy coming to nursery'. They are very pleased with the care practices that staff adopt. Staff are friendly and this is reflected in the lovely atmosphere throughout the nursery. They talk to children about moving up to the next group and discuss with pre-school children about going to school. They support children by arranging visits to local schools and making displays showing photographs of the school environment, uniforms and teachers. The role play

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

area is turned into a school with real uniforms for children to dress up in and engage in imaginative play. This provides children with opportunities to discuss any concerns with staff they may have about moving on to school. Consequently, children are emotionally prepared for their next stage in learning.

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

Children are well behaved and play nicely together. Staff divert children's attention so they maintain good behaviour and reinforce this with gentle reminders about sharing toys and resources. For example, they remind children not to walk around when they have food in their mouths and clearly explain the danger this may expose them to. Children listen to this and change their actions so that they are kept safe. They are beginning to assess their own risk and, as they can hear traffic outside, they inform visitors that the road is very dangerous. Children have access to several outdoor areas. They enjoy daily access to these and benefit from regular fresh air and physical exercise. On the whole, staff adopt good practices to ensure that children's physical well-being is promoted. However, they do not always consider the change in weather conditions to quickly protect children from direct sunlight. This means that there are occasions when children's well-being is not fully

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

Children's independence is promoted during mealtimes and snack times. They are given lots of opportunities to serve themselves food, pour drinks and make individual choices. The nursery employs a cook that provides children with healthy and nutritious meals and snacks. Mealtimes are well supervised and ensure that children are supported in developing their self-care skills. Staff talk to the children about making healthy choices in their diet and explain the benefits of this. They are aware of individual children's dietary needs and ensure that they monitor these closely. Consequently, children's health and well-being is adequately promoted.

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provision

Leadership and management is generally good. The manager is supported by two deputies and has the additional support from the management structure that supports the whole chain of nurseries. Staff have an appropriate knowledge and understanding of how to effectively safeguard children in their care. Detailed risk assessments and daily visual checks ensure the premises and resources are safe for children. The entrance to the nursery is secure and access cannot be obtained unless the visitor is vetted by a staff member. Visitor identification is obtained so that the nursery has an accurate record of all adults visiting the nursery. Complaints are dealt with appropriately and in accordance with nursery procedures. There is a detailed safeguarding policy in place to underpin the appropriate practice of staff. Staff store their mobile phones in a safe situated in the manager's office, to comply with this policy. The staff understand the action to take if an

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provision

allegation of abuse is made against them and are knowledgeable about how to deal with this. Consequently, children are effectively safeguarded.

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provision

The quality of teaching is variable in the nursery. Children are provided with a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities that are linked to the areas of learning. However, there are occasions when children's communication and language development is not fully promoted. For example, in the pre-school room some staff are too enthusiastic about delivering activities to the children. This sometimes leads to a very noisy environment that means some children's voices cannot be heard and staff are unable to observe children's conversations. Staff performance and practice is monitored closely through peer observations and staff supervisions. The manager is aware of areas that need to be improved for the quality of teaching to be consistent across the different groups in the nursery. Progress has been made to improve the quality of the overall teaching in the nursery by feeding back to staff and organising courses to develop staff

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provision

practice. Most of the previous recommendations and actions have been addressed and children now benefit from developmentally appropriate activities that teach them about mathematics, understanding the world and planning that has clear learning objectives. The nursery's self-evaluation and improvement plan has also been completed and identifies areas to improve the quality of teaching and learning opportunities for children. For example, one of the many outdoor areas is being developed and will include a mud kitchen that will allow children to explore their senses and develop their imaginative play.

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provision

Partnerships with parents, other settings and external agencies are promoted well. Staff support children's next stage in learning by liaising closely with local schools. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who speak English as an additional language, are appropriately supported. Staff are aware of how to provide children with additional support from other professionals and have access to the company's specialist staff, such as assessors and trainers. Parents are encouraged to share their views about the nursery and there is a suggestion box in the reception to facilitate this. On the whole, children are generally supported well in their learning and 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 224859 Local authority Wolverhampton Inspection number 871349

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 53 Number of children on roll 58 Name of provider Seesaws Day Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 18/04/2013 Telephone number 01902 341 676

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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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