Jabberwocky Day Nursery

Jabberwocky Day Nursery 28 Two Hedges Road, Bishops Cleeve, CHELTENHAM, Gloucestershire, GL52 8DT

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25/09/2014 08/09/2009

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 The well-established key-person arrangements ensure children are happy and secure in the nursery, and are confident to seek support when needed.  Staff provide a good range of activities and experiences across all areas of learning. Consequently, children make good progress relative to their starting points.  Staff meet the safeguarding requirements effectively. As a result, this promotes children's welfare well.  Strong partnerships with parents enable staff to get to know the children well and meet their individual needs effectively.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Occasionally, activities that involve all children sitting together last too long to maintain the interest of the youngest children, resulting in them becoming restless and distracted.  The management and staff team do not fully involve all parents in the self-evaluation process to improve further the quality of provision.

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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 children in all areas of the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the nursery managers/owners, staff and children.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed paperwork including children's records, samples of their work, policies, risk assessments and suitability checks on staff.

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Information about the setting

Jabberwocky Day Nursery Limited registered in 2006. It is privately owned and is situated in Bishop's Cleeve, near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. The nursery operates from seven rooms in detached premises that have been converted and extended. The children are cared for in four groups and share an enclosed outdoor play area with paved, grassed and safety surfaces. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm for 51 weeks of the year. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four. There are 18 members of staff, of these, 14 hold recognised early years qualifications. There are six members of staff holding higher qualifications at level 4 and above, including one member of staff who holds Early Years Professional Status at level 6.

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

 monitor the duration of large group activities, particularly for the youngest children, to ensure that all children continue to be engaged and motivated to learn

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

 strengthen the self-evaluation process to identify areas for future development by engaging all parents fully in this process.

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who attend

Staff gain information about each child's needs, interests and achievements through well- established settling-in sessions. This helps staff establish children's skills and abilities so they can monitor children's progress. They carry out detailed observations of the children as they play and children have good opportunities to participate in individually planned activities, which the staff team plan weekly. Staff are flexible in their approach to the planning and are especially aware of children's emerging and changing needs, and interests. For example, staff plan activities which children enjoy at home for children who are settling in to develop their confidence. Consequently, staff quickly identify children who are falling behind their peers and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. As a result, planned next steps for children are meaningful and relevant. Parents meet with key staff to discuss their child's development and learning

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who attend

regularly and help complete the required progress check for two-year-old children. This results in children making good progress, given their starting points. The quality of the teaching practice is good. Ongoing monitoring by managers has resulted in skilled staff making good judgements about the balance of adult-led and child- led activities. Staff know when to step in and extend children's learning to provide challenge. For example, staff talked to children about the water and corn flour mixture they were making. This helped children to extend their language and thinking as they talked together, and explained how the mixture changed consistency as they stirred it and added water. Staff ask children skilful questions to help them think for themselves and solve problems, such as what to consider when they want to paint. The staff team make use of activities where all children come together to focus on specific skills. However, the

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who attend

duration of these activities is sometimes a little too long for the youngest children to sit, concentrate and wait their turn. As a result, they can sometimes become restless and distracted.

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who attend

Staff support children well in their communication and language skills. There is a vibrant buzz of chatter as children engage in a wide variety of activities. They speak clearly to children all the time and provide an environment that is rich with both written and spoken words. For example, staff provide labelled drawers and boxes of resources which are at child level and easy to read. Staff speak to babies constantly about what they are playing with and what noises the toys are making. Staff repeat the sounds babies make as they babble and add words for younger children to help them build their sentences. This helps the youngest children to develop early communication and language skills. Older children gain confidence as they stand and talk in front of an audience at group time and the staff teach them good listening skills. Children enjoy early writing activities, which helps support children's pencil control and their letter recognition. For example, youngest children sang

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who attend

action rhymes, which helped strengthen their finger muscles and older children wrote their names. Children have easy access to a wide range of books in cosy, inviting book areas in all the rooms, and children enjoy looking at books with staff and alone. Staff teach children to recognise numbers, shapes and colours as they provide a range of mathematical activities. For example, older children calculated one more and one less as they matched numbers in a game, and staff helped toddlers count their socks and feet.

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who attend

Staff plan the rooms and activities carefully to promote children's social play. As a result, children are sociable and interact with each other well. They enjoy developing their imagination through role play. For example, in a home corner children pretended to prepare dinner for babies and outdoors they used the camping equipment to recreate their own camping experiences. Children enjoy looking and talking about the photographs of themselves and their families.

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who attend

Overall, this all ensures that children have key skills that will help them in their eventual move to school. Parents state that they receive good feedback from staff about their children's progress through daily discussions and regular reports. They state that staff are supportive in helping them to address any concerns about their children's development and offering suggestions to guide their children's learning at home.

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

The well-embedded key-person system ensures that staff meet children's needs well. Children are clear who their key person is and develop strong relationships with them. For instance, when children feel unsettled, they go to their key person for reassurance. Consequently, children develop a sense of self as they learn to form secure emotional attachments with a special person. This promotes their personal, social and emotional development as they demonstrate their early understanding of making relationships. The careful management of children's move to a different room in the nursery helps children progress well. Staff extend the settling-in periods by providing several visits to the child's new room, which supports them to become familiar with staff and their new surroundings. Staff consult parents and their involvement is greatly valued before the child moves into their new room.

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

Children behave thoughtfully as staff encourage them to consider each other's needs. For example, staff explained to children that they will offer snack first to a toddler who expressed he was very hungry. Children share the toys well and remind each other of rules of behaviour. Staff model polite manners for children, and as a result, children are heard readily saying, 'Please' and, 'Thank you'. Staff organise the daily routine well to ensure children benefit from access to fresh air and the outdoor environment daily. The highly stimulating, well-resourced environment both inside and outside means that children's all-round development and emotional well-being is well supported.

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

Staff follow appropriate and hygienic procedures when changing nappies, and are diligent over the personal care of children. Older children receive good help with their toilet training. Staff are sensitive to when children are getting tired, and offer quieter activities, such as story time, as they prepare for sleep time. Meal times are social occasions when children sit together with staff and eat freshly prepared snacks and healthy meals. Staff promote a healthy diet consistently, and all children drink fresh water whenever they are thirsty. Children develop good self-care skills as they learn to turn on taps, pour their own water and wipe their own faces after meals. Staff promote children's personal independence further by giving them more opportunities to take on small responsibilities at meal times, and when tidying up. Staff teach children how to keep themselves safe explaining safety routines constantly. Children take part in regular fire drills so they are

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

aware of how to evacuate the premises in the event of an emergency. Staff are vigilant as children play. As a result, children demonstrate they feel safe, they are clearly happy and confident within the setting.

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provision

Discussions with staff demonstrate that they have clear understanding about their responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements. Staff are clear about the procedures to follow if they have any concerns about children in their care. The staff team meets to discuss updated policies and procedures. Consequently, they are aware of all of the necessary detail to underpin good practice within the nursery. Staff carry out good, clear risk assessments on all areas of the nursery both inside and outside. The management team reviews these regularly, which helps to ensure a safe environment for children and staff. For example, staff conduct daily visual checks of all areas to identify and minimise any hazards prior to children arriving. Staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of safety procedures which help them deal with any accidents promptly as they record incidents in detail and inform parents. Consequently, staff protect children

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provision

Staff work well with outside agencies to support children who have a special educational needs and/or disabilities to close the gaps in their learning and development. They have developed links with other local schools where appropriate to promote continuity of learning. Established partnerships with parents are in place. Detailed information through daily diaries, newsletters, verbal discussion with children's key person and parents' evenings keep parents informed. Detailed notice boards around the rooms and entrance halls share current information, events taking place and updates on the activities that support their children's learning and development. Parents comment on how settled their children are, and how happy they are with the care provided. Parents speak highly about the staff and all know their child's key person.

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provision

The dedicated managers, who are the nursery owners, are appropriately evaluating the nursery and the service it provides. They value feedback from the staff team, previous inspections, and audits of practice and gather some feedback from parents. The management team fully understands that self-evaluation is an ongoing process. However, there is scope to improve the way management collects parents' views to help sharpen future targets for improvements. The managers organise a schedule of professional development for all staff, which takes place in the nursery. Staff express how their practice has improved as a result. This shows a good commitment to developing practice, so that children benefit from the continuous professional development of all staff.

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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 EY330720 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 828160 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 45 Number of children on roll 85 Name of provider Jabberwocky Day Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 08/09/2009 Telephone number 01242 678075

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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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