Plympton St Maurice Childcare Centre

Plympton St Maurice Childcare Centre St. Maurice Primary School, Plympton, PLYMOUTH, PL7 1UB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/09/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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 support children's transitions sensitively when they change age groups within the nursery and move onto school. They work closely with other settings and schools.  The manager and staff work well together to improve the environment and learning experiences for the children.  Children benefit from regular outdoor play in the fresh air to extend their learning experiences across all areas of learning and development.  Partnership with parents is good. Staff regularly share information about children's learning and encourage parents to be involved in the nursery.  Staff form strong bonds with children, enabling them to feel safe and secure so that they can develop and thrive.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always use additional resources or develop conversations to fully extend younger children's activities and interests as they arise.

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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 spoke to children, parents, staff and management.  The inspector observed children in all of the rooms, indoors and outside.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documents, including policies and procedures, children's developmental records and evidence of staff suitability.

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Information about the setting

Plympton St Maurice Childcare Centre registered in 2014. The childcare centre operates from the premises of St Maurice School in Plympton, Plymouth in Devon. Children have access to outdoor play areas. The childcare centre is open each weekday between 7am and 6pm for 51 weeks a year. This includes a breakfast club which is open from 7am to 8.50am, an after school club from 3pm to 6pm and a holiday club from 7am to 6pm. The childcare centre is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 110 children on roll; of these 75 are in the early years age group. Children aged from five to 11 years also attend. There are 16 staff who work with the children. This includes the manager who has Early Years Professional Status; one member of staff with a qualification at level 4; eight members of staff with a qualification at level 3; four members of staff with a qualification at level 2 and

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Information about the setting

one member of staff with a qualification at level 1. There is one member of staff who is unqualified.

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

 extend younger children's learning by following their interests and having resources available to encourage conversations and further stimulate their language and learning.

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who attend

Children enjoy the activities provided at the nursery. They are happy and settled, even though some have only just started. Staff plan activities according to children's interests and ensure that all areas of learning are covered. Staff have a good knowledge of child development and how children learn. This helps them ensure children make good progress through the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff interact well with children during activities, making learning fun.

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who attend

The baby room is light, spacious and well equipped. Staff are attentive and support children well. For example, they provided additional resources for babies to explore as they crawled and reached for objects in a ball pool. Outside, staff have developed a soft area for babies to explore. They ensure that the environment supports all babies' learning needs by also providing a range of natural materials and creative resources. These are at babies' level so they encourage them to make choices for themselves and become active learners. Staff have close and caring relationships with babies. For example, when staff took babies on an outing they constantly reassured them that they were nearby. Consequently, this heped ensured babies were happy and secure. Staff promoted communication skills well through good quality interactions. They talked about the things children could see on the walk. They gave them time to look and extended their

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who attend

vocabulary with new words. Consequently, children learn about the world around them.

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who attend

In the toddler room, staff provided young children with large crayons. They encouraged them to make different marks and talked about the colours they were using. Staff present resources at child height so children can make independent choices in their play. There is free access to the outdoor environment, which is spacious and secure and provides lots of opportunity for developing physical skills. Staff also plan activities in the school grounds which provides additional space for enjoyment and learning. For example, staff took children for a walk around the school field so they could explore and hunt for toy animals. This enabled children to learn about the natural world and develop their communication skills. Children sat on a circle of logs to have their snack and sing some animal songs and rhymes. However, the range of songs was limited. Staff did not take full advantage of children's enjoyment by using props or introduce a wider choice of songs. Likewise, when

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who attend

children noticed slugs under a log staff encouraged children to observe them. However, staff did not have any magnifiers so that children could examine them more closely or books to find out more about them. Consequently, staff missed opportunities to follow children's interests, stimulate conversations and extend their language and learning. In the pre-school room staff encourage children to develop the skills they need for the next stage in their learning. For example, at the start of story time staff remind children how to sit and listen. Staff skillfully used a toy bear to demonstrate what was expected. They used different voices and supported children well as they joined in and predicted rhyming phrases and words. All staff sat with the children and encouraged them to join in. Consequently, staff help children develop good skills in literacy and extend their communication and language skills well. At the end of the story, children were encouraged

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who attend

to talk about what happened. Staff supported children well as they expressed their thoughts. They valued and praised their contributions. Consequently, this promoted their self-esteem and confidence. Staff work with children in small groups. This enables them to introduce focused activities, which they plan from their observations of children's individual needs. They provide a variety of resources for making marks, such as crayons and shaving foam. These are available for children to explore and develop their early writing skills. The book area is inviting and well used. Staff also take children on visits to the local library to develop an enthusiasm for books and find out about the local area. Staff plan in response to children's interests, which means that they are all engaged and eager to learn. For example, children developed an interest in pirates so staff provided opportunities to make pirate hooks and treasure maps. Staff skillfully used children's

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who attend

interests to plan activities to enhance specific areas of learning. As a result, children develop skills for the future in a way, which is enjoyable and meaningful. Staff use effective assessment systems to establish children's starting points and plan their ongoing progression. Staff gather information from parents which helps them get to know children well. Staff make regular observations and identify children's stages of development. They also focus on children's involvement and enjoyment of activities so that they can continually assess their well-being. Consequently, this helps staff ensure that children develop well emotionally. Staff record regular summaries of children's progress and share these with parents. This includes the required progress check for two-year-old children. Staff talk to parents daily and arrange regular parent evenings to discuss children's progress. Parents contribute to recording children's achievements with details of

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

Staff form close relationships with the children through a well-organised and implemented key person system. Consequently, this enables them to feel happy and safe, enjoy activities and develop independence. Staff work well with parents to ensure routines for babies and toddlers are consistent. They use a contact book daily to note details about sleeping and feeding. This keeps parents fully informed about their child's routines. Staff make a family book for babies and toddlers so that they can sit quietly and look at photographs of familiar people and surroundings. This helps them to feel secure and develop well emotionally. The baby room and toddler room are connected so that the move from one room to another happens smoothly. All rooms open onto the outdoor space, so children of all ages socialise and play together. Children enjoy playing together and behaviour is good because staff and parents work

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

together providing a consistent approach for children. Staff act as good role models. They encourage children to think about how their actions may affect others and manage their feelings. For example, when children playing outside children wanted to ride on the same toy. Staff suggested using a timer to help them take turns.

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

The nursery is resourced well with interesting and challenging toys and equipment to promote children's all round development. Staff are fully aware of their responsibilities for keeping children safe. They regularly check the safety of the environment and ensure that children understand how to stay safe as they play. Staff help children develop their own sense of risk when exploring. Therefore, encouraging them to develop personal, social and emotional skills and enjoy learning.

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

Staff promote healthy eating by providing nutritious snacks for children and useful information for parents. Staff use lunchtime as an opportunity to sit with the children and talk to them about healthy food, and how it affects our bodies. Staff encourage children to help themselves at lunchtime so that they develop independence and confidence.

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

The nursery is on the same site as the primary school and staff take full advantage of this to ensure children move smoothly into school. The pre-school children regularly visit the school and use the school hall for physical activities. They join the reception class for joint outdoor activities. This enables them to socialise with the school children and become familiar with the staff. Transition arrangements are carefully considered and visits are also planned for children who attend other local schools. There is good liaison with other settings the children attend so that everyone works together to help children make good progress.

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provision

The manager and staff have a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They effectively monitor children's progression and teach children well. Consequently, children make good progress in their learning. Staff understand their responsibilities for keeping children safe and ensuring the safeguarding and welfare requirements are fully met. Risk assessments are in place and safeguarding is central to the nursery's ethos. Consequently, children are safe due to sound procedures, vigilant staff, and secure premises. Management and staff have attended child protection training and have a clear understanding of child protection issues. They know what to do if they have concerns about a child in their care. All staff are reminded of the importance of safeguarding at regular staff meetings.

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provision

There are robust recruitment and induction procedures for staff. This ensures staff are suitable to work with children and understand their roles and responsibilities. For example, how to manage emergency situations, such as a fire or if a child has an accident. Staff are supported through effective supervision and training. They work well as a team and support each other. The manager and staff have a strong drive to improve the service they provide for children and families. They participate in a quality assurance scheme run by the local authority. This helps them prioritise areas for development and work towards continuous improvement as a team. The nursery building is currently undergoing development to offer more opportunities to interact with children in small groups and promote their communication skills. Children with additional needs receive prompt and effective support. For example, the speech and language therapist comes in to work with specific children. Staff continue this

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provision

programme of support in the nursery and work with parents to support children at home. There are good relationships with parents, who feel that their contributions towards children's learning and development are valued. Parents are very happy with their relationship with the nursery staff. They say staff are gentle and caring, and their children are happy to come to nursery.

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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 EY474376 Local authority Plymouth Inspection number 966643 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 11 Total number of places 52 Number of children on roll 110 Name of provider Plympton St Maurice Childcare Centre Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01752 343085

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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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