Oak Tree Kindergarten Ltd (Lansdowne Road)

Oak Tree Kindergarten Ltd (Lansdowne Road) 42 Lansdowne Road, LUTON, Bedfordshire, LU3 1EE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 02/10/2014 31/01/2014

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 3 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Staff offer a broad range of well-planned learning opportunities. Planning is flexible and tailored to children's individual needs. As a result, children make good progress.  Children are happy and settled in the friendly atmosphere of the nursery. They form warm and caring relationships with their key person, who gets to know them well Therefore, children's sense of security is strong.  Partnership with parents and other professionals are effective. This means that children are given help to meet their individual needs well.  The strong leadership team have high expectations of the nursery and safeguarding is at the heart of practice. Staff have secure knowledge of safeguarding procedures, which promotes children's well-being.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The quality of teaching in the outdoor area is not as consistently high as when children play and learn indoors. Therefore, very good progress is not yet fully consistent across the day for children.  The two-way exchange of information with parents, is not as effective for those with younger aged children who attend the nursery. Therefore, continuity of learning is not consistently promoted throughout the nursery.

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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 four base rooms and the outside area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a selection of documentation including policies, evidence of the suitability of staff, qualifications, procedures and information provided by the provision.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager and deputy manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed a selection of children's observation and assessment development files with key persons.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to parents, staff and children, and took their views into consideration during the inspection.

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Information about the setting

Oak Tree Kindergarten Ltd (Lansdowne Road) was registered in 2003 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a large, detached, converted house in Luton, Bedfordshire. It is privately managed. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. Children use four base rooms and an enclosed garden for outdoor play. Sessions are from 8am to 6pm. There are currently 80 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The nursery supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 25 members of childcare staff. Of these, 13 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3.

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

 extend further, the good teaching that already occurs indoors to the garden, so that children have consistently good support throughout their day

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

 enhance the good partnership with parents further, by developing the ways in which learning is encouraged at home for young children.

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who attend

The staff offer a broad range of learning opportunities, which cover all areas of development. The programme is topic led with children's interests in mind. Parents note, with the staff, the ability levels of children's development. Staff complete good quality observations to pinpoint children's skills and identify their next steps in learning. They talk confidently about where children are in their learning and development. Children are offered activities that challenge their abilities and therefore, they make good progress in relation to their age and starting points. Parents receive updates about learning through newsletters, parents evenings and the progress check for children aged between two and three. Parents of older children are continually encouraged to borrow books and practice letter sounds at home to promote children's learning further. However, these ideas are less well developed in the rooms where the younger children attend. Therefore, the

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who attend

continuity of learning for young children is not yet fully secure.

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who attend

Teaching is effective and well-planned during indoor activities. However, while good quality resources promote children's learning outdoors, there are fewer interactions between staff and children in the outdoor area that demonstrate very good teaching. As a result, children's learning is not fully optimised in the outdoor area. Adults join in play sensitively, fitting in with the children's existing play ideas. For example, when children identify a toy spider, staff talk about the features and sing familiar rhymes. Children join in the familiar words developing their speaking skills. Young babies have the time to explore and actively learn with attractive resources. They actively bang wooden spoons on metal pots and shake noisy items. Staff hold up a sparkly bottle in the sunshine for non-mobile babies to look at and reach for. This promotes young children's curiosity and interest, engaging their senses. Large group times for older children, skilfully encourage children's

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who attend

listening skills, vital for when they begin attending school. Children enjoy listening to familiar stories and join in rhyming phrases. Children are confident to speak and their opinions are valued, as one child comments how the story was funny. They all enjoy naming colours and shapes as staff talk about the features of the shapes. Staff help children to understand counting problems. For example, when there are lots of children wanting to role play, staff ask the children to consider how many more children would be able to play. This builds a foundation for mathematical skills, as well as an ability to solve conflicts with others.

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who attend

Opportunities to make marks with a variety of materials are available for children to access freely. Damp sand, pencils and chalks are available in every room. Older children have letter templates to choose from along with their name cards. These opportunities develop children's fine motor skills and consequently, their early writing skills. Staff use visual activity cards effectively as cues for children with emerging language and children with English as an additional language. For example, children are shown a picture of the upcoming routine time. They nod their heads and then are able to understand and engage with the activity. Staff work closely together with parents to find out key words and talk about festivals, that children who speak English as an additional language and those who are bi-lingual, enjoy. As a result, children are able to feel secure in the nursery and make good progress. All children have the opportunity to build on their technological skills for

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who attend

the future. Older children competently use computer programmes and younger children press buttons anticipating the noise the electronic toys make.

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

An effective key person approach means that staff know the children well. Staff and parents work together to help children to settle smoothly. Meetings allow staff to gather valuable information from parents about their children. Staff update ongoing care plans in collaboration with parents for each individual child. As a result, children's needs are carefully monitored as they grow and change. Staff sensitively comfort new children. For example, staff cuddle crying babies and speak to them in a soothing manner. When moving rooms, staff visit with children and relay all the important information to new key staff and parents ensuring a smooth transition. All the age ranges mix together and siblings delight in seeing each other in the garden. This fosters children's friendships and personal caring attitudes.

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

Children behave well. They enthusiastically respond to the cues for changes in the day. For example, children line up to go inside when the bell rings and begin tidying up rooms when hearing the musical instrument. Staff readily praise these actions reinforcing the acceptable boundaries. Staff implement strategies as the children need, such as a sand timer to promote fair turn-taking between children. Older children have the daily opportunity to be special helpers. This gives them a sense of achievement and builds on their self-help skills. Children are able to access fresh water in named drinking bottles and ask to go to the toilet as they need. This helps them to become aware of how to meet their own personal needs. Staff praise children for their attempts at dressing. The ability to practise these independent skills means that children are being given a good foundation with which to cope independently at school. Children are learning to stay safe in practical

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

ways. For instance, young children move out of the way when they hear the knock on the door in their playroom knowing it is going to open. Through play, older children ask younger children to move out of the way in order to hula hoop without hurting anyone nearby. Babies have safe furniture to crawl around and pull themselves up on. As a result, children have the opportunity to judge risks through play independently. Staff stand near the trampoline to make sure that children are safe. They count children in and out of the garden and communicate about locking and unlocking doors. As a result, staff ensure children's safety.

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

Resources are suitable and enthuse children's imagination. For example, the role play resources in each room encourage children to play with each other and explore various materials. The provider ensures a balance of fresh food that offers a healthy menu for the whole day for the children. Staff cater for children's dietary requirements and evaluate how much children enjoyed the food. Consequently, children are good eaters and well- nourished. All staff have food safety training to ensure the hygienic preparation and handling of food. Daily opportunities to be outdoors are available for all children. The children steer bikes safely around the garden and climb on apparatus using their large muscles. Babies can crawl freely indoors and out into a baby garden. Children wash hands after using the toilet and before eating. Nappy changes are a hygienic and caring time for young children. As a result, staff promote an all-round healthy lifestyle for children.

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provision

The provider ensures that the safeguarding and welfare requirements are met for all children. Safeguarding is high on the agenda for the nursery, which promotes the welfare of children. Staff attend regular child protection training and, therefore, have secure knowledge of the signs and symptoms which might cause them concern about children's welfare. They know how to raise any concerns with designated officers and outside agencies. They also have knowledge of referral processes outside the nursery should they have a concern about a member of staff. Furthermore, safeguarding is on the plan for every staff, team and management meeting, as well as supervision meetings. Recruitment procedures are extremely robust. For example, management request references before interview and members of staff do not begin work until their Disclosure and Barring Service check is complete. Induction is robust and detailed. This means that staff are

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provision

suitable to work in the nursery, and they are aware of their roles and responsibilities enabling them to meet the needs of each individual child. Supervision is regular and includes all staff. Staff relate that they are able to raise any concerns and discuss training needs for the future. Frequent staff meetings ensure that the value of team work is continuously fostered. All staff speak highly of the management team and have full confidence that the supportive leaders will deal swiftly with any issues raised. Thorough risk assessments, daily checks and closely monitored security ensures that children's safety is at the heart of all practice.

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provision

The provider ensures that the safeguarding and welfare requirements are met. A clear training log ensures that mandatory training requirements are met. For example, the management ensure staff attend up-to-date first aid and food safety training to refresh their knowledge. Many childcare staff are qualified to level 3, which reflects the strong knowledge they have of each child. The management monitor the children's learning closely. This ensures that any children making slow progress are identified, therefore, narrowing the gap and supporting children to make good progress towards the early learning goals. Since the last inspection, the nursery team have worked hard to improve. For example, the management have actively sought out the expertise from outside professionals to develop a plan that further supports children who have English as an additional language. Self-evaluation includes staff ideas, feedback from parent

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provision

questionnaires and children's views. For example, staff are looking forward to a joint project of developing the garden.

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provision

The nursery works closely with parents to ensure continued support for children. Parents are extremely happy with the care their children receive. One parent states that 'staff go above and beyond their jobs to support us.' Parents receive a copy of policies and procedures and are continually updated through newsletters and emails about relevant information. This underpins the professional relationship the nursery team has with the parents. Partnership with other agencies are strong. The provider is aware of services to sign post parents to, such as speech and language therapy. Posters in the foyer display a range of agencies that parents can contact including Ofsted and local family support services. Consequently, partnership working benefits child and family needs.

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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 EY268826 Local authority Luton Inspection number 962760

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 42 Number of children on roll 80 Name of provider Oak Tree Kindergarten Ltd Date of previous inspection 31/01/2014 Telephone number 01582 720 848

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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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