Smartypants Exclusive Childcare

Smartypants Exclusive Childcare 35 - 37 Romney Street, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 0DD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/09/2014 07/05/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 2 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 The quality of teaching is outstanding. Staff have an excellent knowledge of how children learn and provide a rich, varied and imaginative educational programme, with precise assessment and planning for individual children. As a result, children make rapid progress in their learning and development in relation to their starting points.  Key persons are exceptionally skilled and sensitive. They help children to successfully form secure emotional attachments and feel very secure in the environment. They have a superb knowledge and understanding of the children they care for, which has a highly positive impact on their physical and emotional well-being.  Staff have an excellent understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The rigorous implementation of robust policies and procedures successfully promotes children's safety and ensures they are well protected.

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This provision is outstanding

 The excellent partnerships formed between the parents and staff provide a positive two-way flow of information that is highly valued. This enables them to fully contribute and be actively engaged in their children's learning and progress.  Leadership is inspirational, successfully driving improvement over a sustained period of time.

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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 nursery and the outside learning environment and viewed toys, equipment and resources.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector undertook a joint observation of a teaching activity with the lead practitioner.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the owner and childcare staff at appropriate times during the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined documentation including a representative sample of children's records, daily diaries, safeguarding and complaints policies, staff suitability and training records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and children spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Smartypants Exclusive Childcare was registered in 1999 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in the Nelson area of Lancashire, and is privately owned. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from two converted properties and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery employs 15 members of childcare staff. Of these, 13 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and above, including one member at level 6. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 5.45pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 58 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language.

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

 consider ways to build on the excellent practice in place to further stimulate children's interest in literacy and numeracy by providing more resources, such as games that link letters and sounds, number lines and other texts, in the outdoor space.

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who attend

Staff have an excellent knowledge of how children learn and of the Early Years Foundation Stage and demonstrate high expectations of themselves and children. They help children to settle at the nursery by gathering a wealth of information about their interests and individual needs from the parents when they first join. From this information, they ensure that activities are shaped to meet the children's individual interests and learning needs. They use this information together with their own observations to identify children's starting points. The exceptional organisation of the educational programme engages children in rich, varied and imaginative experiences that are tailored to meet their individual needs. Staff undertake purposeful, accurate and precise observations and assessments that highlight children's individual interests and preferred learning styles. This information is used superbly in conjunction with their home experiences, and translated

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who attend

into individualised planning that clearly identifies each child's next steps in learning. Children's learning records illustrate the rapid improvement in their learning. A robust system is in place for tracking and analysing children's learning and progress. As a result, children who are at risk of falling below their expected levels of development are identified quickly. This ensures they receive targeted support and appropriate intervention, if necessary. In addition, it means that no child is disadvantaged and all children have the opportunity to reach their full potential. Staff provide weekly newsletters informing parents of the learning that will take place the following week in nursery. They attach a 'Wow moment' sheet for parents to complete to celebrate and share any significant achievement their child has made at home. This is shared and celebrated at circle time and then the child's 'Wow moment' is displayed in the reception area for everyone to see. Parents are

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who attend

able to discuss children's learning records, and talk to staff on a daily basis about what their child has achieved in the nursery. They offer parents suggestions about how they can help support their children's learning at home. For example, they suggest 'when going for a walk, talk to your child about autumn and what happens in the environment'. The nursery provides 'book packs' for all children to share with their parents at home. Parents are asked to provide feedback about their child's curiosity in the chosen book; this allows staff to follow their interests and provides excellent continuity for children. Parents are kept fully informed of their children's progress through regular daily conversations, diaries and assessment summaries. Also children's learning records are available for them to view at any time.

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who attend

Staff place an extremely strong emphasis on helping children to acquire communication and language skills. Sign language is embedded throughout the nursery and children who speak English as an additional language are superbly supported by staff. They find out and use key words and phrases in children's home language, to help promote their understanding of English. They also have the advantage of being able to interact and communicate with bilingual staff who speak their home language. Consequently, their knowledge and understanding of English progresses very quickly. Staff working with babies and young children respond swiftly and sensitively to their non-verbal communications. They encourage children's language development as they listen carefully to them, mirror language extremely well and routinely give commentary as they play. As children begin to talk, staff take many opportunities to encourage and extend their

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who attend

language development. They ask open-ended questions throughout the daily routine and as children engage in play. Children are highly motivated and enthusiastic learners. They become engrossed in their play on their own, with friends and staff. Children are exceptionally curious and active learners, showing a high degree of confidence and enthusiasm. This is because staff make the nursery environment a fun place to be, where children are active participants in the learning process. The exceedingly rich learning environment provides lots of experiences, which the children readily take part in. Staff place a high priority on supporting children to develop their personal, social, emotional and physical development. This means that children acquire the skills, abilities and attitudes to prepare them in readiness for school. For example, staff appoint special helpers throughout the day. They allocate specific tasks and these teach children to

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who attend

interact with adults and each other, and develop an understanding of responsibility. Babies show contentment, because the staff give high levels of attention to their personal care routines and their need to explore. For example, babies excitedly interact with older children outdoors encouraging children to learn from each other. Displays of photographs of children engaging in previous activities help them to recall past occasions and talk about what they did. This promotes their growing self-assurance.

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who attend

The environment both indoors and outdoors, is exceptionally well resourced with open ended materials, which supports children's sense of curiosity and their natural desire to explore and investigate. For example, children have a wonderful time as they transfer sand and dried pasta into the water tray to make their own unique mixtures. Staff encourage children to look at how the pasta had changed when it had been left in the water. This extends children's understanding of the world. Children benefit greatly from the exciting outdoor play area that is creatively enhanced in all areas of learning. They develop their physical skills as they balance, jump and ride bikes and scooters. Children concentrate when they practise their parking skills as they expertly reverse their bike into a tight space. However, there is scope to further enhance the excellent outside environment to reflect more letters and numbers to stimulate further children's interest in

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who attend

numeracy and literacy. There are lots of games and activities to expertly promote problem solving. This fully extends children's growing understanding of mathematics through their daily play. Older children confidently attempt to write their names in the foam, developing meaning to the marks that they make. The excellent selection of books, story sacks and various props, fully capture children's interest in storytelling. Children's understanding of their own and others' cultures, beliefs and lifestyles is promoted well through activities and an extensive range of toys, resources, books and posters that reflect positive images of diversity.

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

Children thrive in this welcoming, dynamic and vibrant nursery. They enjoy extremely secure and warm relationships with their key persons and the staff team as a whole. Children's individual needs are very well known because the staff work extremely closely with parents. This approach ensures a smooth move between home and nursery resulting in children settling easily and happily. The children are extremely well behaved and thrive on the individual attention received from the staff, who consistently boost their confidence and self-esteem. Staff are very accomplished in recognising the uniqueness of each child and providing for their individual needs and interests. Babies are secure and confident to explore their surroundings, safe in the knowledge they have the supportive and nurturing staff who have high expectations. They form close attachments to them and enjoy cuddles, as they listen to music or explore the texture of the natural objects in the

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

treasure baskets. They look for reassurance as they explore the bubbles, watching as they float and pop. Staff provide consistently high levels of praise and encouragement for children to try new activities and develop their independence. For example, they give them appropriate responsibility to undertake tasks, such as, preparing their own snack and helping to tidy up.

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

Children develop excellent self-care skills and are aware of the importance of following good hygiene practices; they are becoming competent in managing their personal needs relative to their ages. For example, they are learning to wash their hands before snack and dinner. They do this spontaneously, often without having to be reminded by the staff. Children have an excellent understanding of the importance of healthy lifestyles. They help themselves to drinking water when they are thirsty and are offered a range of healthy snacks of fresh fruit and eat well-balanced and nutritious meals. For example, children enjoy lunch of freshly home-made jacket potato with a selection of fillings, followed by strawberry rock cakes. Lunch time routine is extremely well organised where selected helpers, give out plates and cutlery, children independently select their own food and drink and clear away when they have finished. Very good hygiene practices are

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

adhered to when staff change children's nappies. They record routine information about nappy changes, sleep patterns and details of food eaten by the children, which is given to parents at the end of each day. This information in addition to the verbal feedback helps ensure that parents are kept fully informed about their children's routines throughout the day.

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

Children independently make choices from an exceptional range of stimulating and exciting play equipment. There are exceptional opportunities for children to benefit from fresh air daily, as they have an abundance of opportunities to enjoy the outdoor environment in all weathers. For example, staff regularly take the children on nature walks, to the local shops, and park as part of the nursery routine. This develops their understanding of the local community. The extremely varied and stimulating resources and the expert support provided by the staff equip children with excellent skills for the next stages in their learning and their move on to school.

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provision

All staff have an excellent understanding of child protection through regular training and monitoring to ensure they implement the robust policies and procedures extremely effectively. Strong links with other professionals and support services mean that children are exceptionally well protected and any concerns are recorded and rigorously monitored, so that children are fully safeguarded. The premises are particularly secure, as all visitors enter through the main reception area for the building, which is always staffed. This means that children are protected from unwanted visitors and cannot leave the premises unsupervised. Highly effective risk assessments for the premises and for all outings ensure that children are safe. Robust recruitment and induction procedures ensure that all staff are suitable and safe to work with children. The ongoing suitability of staff is closely monitored through regular supervisions and appraisals. In addition, staff sign a yearly

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provision

declaration to confirm that there have been no change in circumstances that would affect their suitability to care for children.

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provision

Leadership is inspirational. Rigorous monitoring of observation, assessment and planning by the lead practitioner ensures children continue to make excellent progress in all areas of learning. Interventions are sought at the early stages for groups of children at risk of falling behind their peers, or achieving below their expected level of development. Staff subsequently adapt their planning to incorporate further activities to support those children and the areas of learning identified. The process for self-evaluation within the setting is extensive and effective, incorporating the views of all staff, children and parents. The staff team share a vision to provide an excellent service for children and their families, thus making a positive difference to their lives. Staff are highly motivated in their continuous professional development and are continually seeking ways to improve. Effective systems are implemented to enable staff to continually evaluate their practice.

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provision

This is achieved through high quality professional supervision, appraisals, continual reviews and extensive monitoring of practice. Consequently, staff can effectively identify areas of learning, which require further enhancement and act upon their findings. Peer observations are consistently undertaken to help staff to share their knowledge and expertise and learn from each other, which ultimately enhances the quality of teaching and learning.

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provision

Highly effective partnerships with parents and other providers ensure that children's needs are quickly identified and exceptionally well met. Children who require the involvement of external professionals are supported by staff at the highest level, because of their outstanding understanding of the importance of partnership working. Information, such as, 'All about me' booklets and assessments are translated into parents' home language, so that those who speak English as an additional language are not disadvantaged in any way. This means that all parents feel valued and respected, which in turn has a positive impact on children's learning. Parents are keen to voice their opinions of the nursery and are highly complimentary about the care and education their children receive. They comment that they are very appreciative of the ideas and suggestions for activities they can do, to help support their children's learning at home. Parents comment that children

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provision

make very good progress in their learning and development. They state that children are happy, safe and secure in the nursery and staff are welcoming, friendly and approachable.

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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 309797 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 990164

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 58 Name of provider Colette Hewitt Date of previous inspection 07/05/2009 Telephone number 01282 616 735

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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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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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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