The Little Academy Day Nursery

Severn Lodge Ltd Severn Lodge Nursery and Pre-School, Severn Lodge, Severn Road, BRADFORD, West Yorkshire, BD2 4LS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16/09/2014 21/03/2014

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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 are confident about their teaching and place children's interests and learning needs at the heart of their activity plans. This means learning for each child is personalised and adapted to suit their individual needs, and therefore, they make good progress.  Leadership and management are good. The manager delivers a vision that underpins continuous improvement. She involves the staff, parents, and children in identifying areas for development.  Partnerships with parents and other professionals are good and strong relationships with parents help staff to recognise and support children's individual needs. As a result, children are happy and form strong attachments, which helps them to feel safe and secure.  Staff have a good understanding of their responsibilities and the procedures for protecting children. They regularly refresh their knowledge. They implement robust safeguarding and child protection procedures which ensures children's safety.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Opportunities for children to enhance their listening and attention, for example, through the use of puppets and props, are not fully extended.

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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 had a tour of the premises, held a meeting with the manager and deputy manager. She talked to the children and staff at appropriate times throughout the inspection.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children engaged in a good range of activities in the playrooms and outside areas.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector acknowledged the views of parent's, including those spoken to during the inspection and written comments.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a selection of documentation, including staff qualifications, their Disclosure and Barring checks, the policies and procedures and children's learning records.

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Information about the setting

Severn Lodge Ltd was registered in 1999. It is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is privately owned. It operates from a detached house in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The nursery serves the local and surrounding areas. The nursery opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am until 6pm, except for bank holidays. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 90 children on roll, of whom all are in early years age range. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The nursery supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. There are currently 20 staff working directly with children, of whom 15 have an appropriate early year qualification at level 2 or 3. The manager holds a degree in childcare and has Early Years Professional status.

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

 enhance all children's sustained interest in books and songs, for example, by using puppets and other props to encourage listening and responding.

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who attend

All children are very settled, motivated and demonstrate positive attitudes to learning as they eagerly explore the very good choice of activities freely available to them. They are effectively supported by staff, who have a very good understanding of child development and their role in supporting children's learning. This is reflected in the purposeful and spontaneous observations and formative assessments of children. Staff demonstrate in a very supportive way, how well all children in the setting are included, especially those with English as an additional language. For example, there are staff available who speak the children's home language. This ensures that all children are progressing well towards the early learning goals, in relation to their starting points. Furthermore, they all feel fully included and valued. The assessments include the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years. This acknowledges young children's achievements and very

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who attend

accurately show their skills and interests. The staff use these effectively to identify next steps for each child and plan activities to extend their learning and development. These are promptly shared with parents and other professionals, as required. Clear tracking of children's progress highlights any gaps in their learning and additional support is sought from other professionals when appropriate. Therefore, all children are effectively supported. Parents are encouraged to contribute to their children's learning records, discussing how children are progressing at home, in a wide variety of ways. For example, parents complete forms about activities children like to do, they take the nursery teddy bears and books home and use these to write about what they have been doing. This helps to ensure continuity of progress and forms good communication links to support children's individual needs.

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who attend

All children have good opportunities to develop their communication and language skills. They have good access to a wide selection of quality books. For example, picture books, non-fiction books and story books are available. Children sit together to listen to a story before they have lunch. However, some children lose concentration as staff do not always respond to this by adapting their practice, and consequently, children's listening and attention skills are not always maximised. For example, staff do not use puppets and props very often to support this area of learning. Overall, however, children are very enthusiastic about their learning. Older children get very excited as they become pirates. Staff place eye patches and hats on them and go outside to look for the treasure. Staff's interaction is very good, they join in, guiding the children to the pirate ship to sail to the island. Once there, staff step back and let the children take their own initiative to hunt for

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who attend

the treasure. This activity stretches children's imagination very well. Staff extend this activity by making money boxes to place the treasure in that the children have found. This develops children expressive and creative skills and their imagination. Babies have good opportunities to learn about different textures. They play with the flour and cereal, pouring it through their hands with guidance from staff. Babies learn to pull themselves up and walk with the many walkers available to them. As they stand and start to walk they receive lots of clapping and praise from staff. This boosts their self-esteem, confidence and physical development. Younger children love playing with the musical instruments dancing as they bang the drum. They also enjoy completing the inside obstacle course, and enjoy rolling the ball to each other. Staff give clear instructions to them to bounce the ball, high then low, showing them how to do it.

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who attend

Staff generally have a very good awareness of children's length of attention and encourage them to move onto other activities in a timely manner. For example, some children loose interest in rolling the ball so staff put the music on and do a music and movement session with the children. Children move their arms and legs and copy the actions of the staff. Other children move to the table where the pencils and crayons are to draw pictures for their parents. All children have good access to developing their technology skills. For example, older children know how to set up the laptop and complete pictures and go to the printer to print them off. They then bring them to display and show their friends, building their confidence and self-esteem. Staff communicate well with children talking to them at their level and asking good questions to develop children's thinking skills. For example, they ask older children which toys will float and sink in the

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who attend

water. Children choose the plastic duck and tell staff that it is floating. They then continue to investigate and to think as they pour the water down the pipe and watch it fill their cups. Through all activities the staff are very attentive encouraging and supporting the children in their play. They take on board children's individual interests and ability and challenge children in a fun and enjoyable environment. This supports the very good quality of teaching in place for all children and prepares them in readiness for school.

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

The well-established key-person system enables children to quickly build a trusting relationship with staff. Parents and children attend several settling-in sessions and home visit are also offered. As children move from one room to another in the nursery, they visit several times and are introduced to their new key person along with their parents. Children show they feel secure, which means they are more able to play, explore and learn, so that they make good progress. Children's emotional well-being is maintained as key persons are quick to notice when they are upset and need reassurance. Staff work well with parents to maintain a consistent approach to addressing care needs and they share information, so that each child's needs are met.

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

Children are encouraged to think about being healthy by discussing with staff the food available at snack time. They go out into the garden and pick the herbs they have grown and mix the chives with mayonnaise for their dips. Staff act as positive role models and encourage children to learn about sensible hygiene routines. Children independently wash their hands after using the toilet and before eating food. Their self-care skills and independence are supported well. For example, staff use sensitive encouragement to help children to learn how to set the table ready for lunch and children are involved in preparing snacks and lunches. This helps children to gain the skills needed for the move to school. All children learn about a healthy lifestyle through regular access to a well- resourced outdoor area. Older children run around climb on the several wooden activity frames, complete obstacle courses and learn to skip. Babies access their own outdoor area

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

and all children get opportunities to participate weekly with the dance group that attend the nursery. This helps to develop children's physical development and ensure they get daily fresh air.

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

Staff act as very good role models to children and they use effective strategies to help them to learn about acceptable behaviour. As a result, children respond well and their behaviour is extremely good. Children routinely take turns and share with their friends and support each other during chosen activities. They say 'please' and 'thank you' appropriately. Children are given plenty of praise for their own achievements, for example, when they make choices for themselves or listen well to the staff. They smile when they hear the positive praise being delivered. This helps to build children's self-confidence and self-esteem. Staff ensure children learn about how to stay safe both at nursery and out in the community. For example, fire drills are practised monthly and as older children go down the steps, they are reminded to hold onto the hand rail. Resources are of good quality and are stored appropriately, so that children can make independent choices in

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provision

Staff have a very good awareness of safeguarding issues. They are competent in their knowledge of the procedures to follow and who to contact in the event of any concerns about children or colleagues. Staff are fully aware of who the nursery's designated child protection manager is. They know the process to follow if they are concerned about any issues within their practice. An extensive range of policies and procedures successfully underpin daily practice and regular reviews are carried out. Risk assessments for all areas of the building, the outdoor area and resources, ensure that children's safety remains paramount. At inspection, all staff demonstrate that they recognise and understand the signs and symptoms of abuse and are confident to make immediate reports if they have concerns about a child or a colleague's practice. All necessary safeguarding procedures are followed by staff and the documentation is in place, understood and completed precisely

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provision

to protect children's welfare. For example, accident records clearly detail the incident, injury and the treatment carried out before being shared with, and signed by, parents.

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provision

Since the last inspection by Ofsted, where the setting received a number of actions to improve, the nursery has had one monitoring visit to assess their progress with addressing the actions. The management team has made many changes to their practice. These have had a positive impact on the education and care for all children and the team have been very pro-active in meeting any actions set. As a result, children are making good progress towards the early learning goals. Each action set at the last inspection has been met through careful consideration, and clear targets are monitored through a robust development plan. A new system, developed by the manager and staff, is now fully implemented to ensure that all children's learning and development needs are met, in an inclusive and respectful environment.

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provision

Effective recruitment and vetting systems ensure all adults working with children are suitable to do so and the manager has implemented a working interview as an additional check to ensure suitability. As a result, children are safeguarded appropriately. Leadership is strong and focused improvement plans are in place to secure continuous improvement. Supervision meetings are undertaken by the manager and are recorded using a suitable format. The professional development of staff is given a high priority. All mandatory training is in place. In addition, the manager seeks further training opportunities from a range of sources to meet any training needs identified by herself and individual staff. The manager continues to monitor provision within the nursery and ensure that staff are deployed effectively, according to their qualifications and experience with specific age groups of children. They have a good understanding of the requirements to effectively

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provision

monitor all children's skills, abilities and progress. Interventions are sought at the early stages to identify any group falling behind their peers or below their expected achievements. This results in children's needs being met effectively and relevant support services being involved. The setting works very closely with local schools, which means that children are very well prepared for their move into school. Partnership with parents are effective in promoting children's well-being and progress. The nursery communicates with parents using a range of methods including a variety of notice boards, questionnaires, newsletters and daily feedback. Parents speak extremely highly about the nursery and the staff team, and feel thoroughly involved in their children's 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 302062 Local authority Bradford Inspection number 981550

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 67 Number of children on roll 90 Name of provider Severn Lodge Ltd Date of previous inspection 21/03/2014 Telephone number 01274 637425

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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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