Littleview Day Nursery

Littleview Day Nursery Brionne Gardens, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 2HE

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16/10/2014 Not Applicable

p.1

early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

p.1

This provision is good

 Staff are excellent role models and provide an enabling and nurturing environment, consequently children are very independent and their behaviour is exceptional.  Staff model a wide range of vocabulary and support children's communication skills, therefore all children are confident talkers and use a good range of expressive language.  Staff tune into children's interests and help them to develop themes and ideas to further their knowledge and understanding.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always fully support children's mathematical development during their own play.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to children and staff and observed practice throughout the nursery.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to key persons about children's starting points, their progress and their readiness for school.  The inspector looked at children's learning journals and a sample of documents  The inspector spoke to parents to gain their views about the setting.  The inspector took part in a joint observation of practice.

p.2

Information about the setting

Littleview Day nursery registered with Ofsted in 2002 and operates from a building in the grounds of Hillview Girls School, Tonbridge, Kent. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 5pm during term time only. There are two secure enclosed outdoor play areas which are suitable for the two different age groups of children. There are currently 29 children aged from eight months to under five years on roll. Of these, 13 children receive funding for early education. Children come from the local and surrounding areas. Places are offered to parents who work for Kent County Council as a teacher or support staff. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and or disabilities, as well as children who are learning English as an additional language. The nursery employs six members of staff. All hold appropriate early years qualifications.

p.3

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

 further develop children's understanding of mathematical concepts and language by supporting and modelling mathematical themes, ideas and language during children's own play.

p.3

who attend

The quality of teaching across the nursery is consistently good. Staff interactions are of a good quality. Staff tune into children, ask open-ended questions, suggest alternative ideas and build upon what children already know and can do. Staff challenge children to think for themselves and this happens very naturally. For example, at lunch time staff ask children to smell the air and then guess what is for lunch, this leads to a discussion about foods they know and like. There is a good balance of child and adult-led play. All staff understand the different ways in which children learn and give them time to explore and develop their own ideas in their own way, making learning meaningful. Staff have created photographic journals of children's own themes and interests. Themes begin with a mind map of what the children already know and organically grows from there. A journal of a favourite book explores what the children know about the character. These include an

p.3

who attend

outside hunt, creating a wall display using many different art materials, making their own cave with natural resources and making crumble to serve with owl ice cream.

p.3

who attend

Children are confident at communicating with each other, staff and visitors. Staff model language well and children use expressive language to describe what they can see and what they are doing. The younger children build up their vocabulary quickly with support from their key person. Children enjoy mark making with chalks and pens and paints and some older children can form recognisable letters. Staff engage children in activities to develop their literacy such as clapping out the syllables in their names and listening to sounds in the garden. Children with dual language are greeted in both languages.

p.3

who attend

Staff support children in acquiring physical skills. The garden areas are particularly well designed and well resourced. There are tyres and pallets, ride on toys with and without pedals, rocking toys, a large frame for swinging and ample room to run and move freely. In the mud kitchen staff supply water and soap so that children learn to wash their hands when they are muddy and dirty. Staff foster children's independence by encouraging them to put on their own coats and wellington boots, which most children can with varying levels of support. Staff observe what children enjoy and extend their experiences. A board game where children can twist, slide and pull different locks and bolts has been replicated on a larger scale in the garden by fitting large bolts and locks down one side of the garden fencing. Children enjoy fiddling with these locks and bolts to work out how they open.

p.4

who attend

All children are kind and compassionate to each other, which staff praise. Older children enjoy spending time with the younger children at lunch time. Once lunch is finished children wait for each other sitting in talking circles. Staff involve children in decisions by asking them what toys they would like next. Children understand the routines of the day and know where everything is around the setting, which enables them to be very independent. As a child finishes her fruit at snack time, she puts the banana skin in her empty cup, then tidies away by putting her banana skin into the bin marked compost. All around the nursery there are printed words to reinforce that words have meaning. Children clearly love being read to. They snuggle up on the sofa whilst staff skilfully read to them answering questions and suggesting and asking what might happen next, whilst still maintaining the attention and interest of the whole group. Children can choose to

p.4

who attend

listen to stories on the stereo with headphones and make their own story books. It is full of photos and printed captions of what the children are doing and what is happening in this well told story.

p.4

who attend

Children make progress in their mathematical development. However, staff occasionally miss opportunities to explore mathematical concepts and language with children when they are engaged in their own activities such as playing in the mud kitchen. There are numbers displayed around the nursery and mathematical resources to aid mathematical development. In adult-led activities staff support mathematical development well as they encourage children by asking them to count out two groups and add them together, which they can do. Staff supply ample resources for children to be creative. Children clearly love to paint and carefully select colours for their paintings. They discuss with each other what they are painting and the colours they are using. Staff display children's work around the whole setting on the walls and ceilings, which promotes children's self esteem. Staff teach children well known songs and children join in with words and actions.

p.4

who attend

Staff make technology fun and engaging. Children have torches to hunt for spiders in dark places around the nursery. Staff show children how they can use technology, demonstrating how to operate the stereo with headphones. Children are aware of how things grow and change over time. The baby garden is planted with herbs and flowers and alpine strawberries. Staff have left the sunflowers so that the children can watch them grow and change over time. Children comment that they love autumn because of the colours and enjoy splashing in puddles when it has rained. All children make good progress from their staring points. Key persons carefully and regularly observe children, setting them meaningful next steps in their learning to ensure that they make good progress towards the Early Learning Goals.

p.4

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

A real strength of this nursery is that all staff take time to form trusting relationships with children and their families and that they constantly tune into children's current interests. Staff are excellent role models for children and their warmth and praise is genuine, therefore all children thrive in their care. Children are confident and enjoy spending time with staff. There is a lot of laughter and children are happy. When speaking to staff and parents it is evident that working in partnership with parents is given high priority and is fully embedded in practice. Care routines particularly for the younger children are updated regularly through communication with parents to meet each child's individual needs. When younger children are ready to move up to the pre-school room, staff fully support them in this move, as staff understand their needs. Staff quickly notice when babies are tired or need comforting as they completely tune into their individual needs. All staff have high

p.5

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

expectations of all children and children's behaviour is exemplary. It is noticeable how kind and compassionate children are to each other.

p.5

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

There is a rhythm to the day which is clearly embedded into practice as children know what is going to happen next. In the morning children self register with their name card placing it on the appropriate board. At snack time they remove this card to the snack board. They do not have to be reminded to do this as it is obviously part of their everyday routine. Children know where everything is and staff label personal items well so that children can find things for themselves. To help children to understand how to behave towards each other staff model excellent behaviour and have developed golden rules with the children. Lunch time is a joyous occasion with all children all sit together. Whilst waiting for their lunch they sit happily chatting to each other and staff. This supports children to develop very good social skills for their future. To encourage children to make healthy choices, children and parents share a snack rota so that children are involved in

p.5

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

buying the fruit for snack. When an unusual fruit is bought in, staff and children investigate together what it is by looking it up on the computer.

p.5

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

Staff work hard to create a wonderful nurturing space for children of all ages. The baby room is full of different textures on the floor and walls, soft furnishings make it cosy whilst displays and art work make it stimulating and interesting. Outside the planting has been given a lot of thought. When entering the area you can smell lavender and other herbs, which run the entire length of the garden. The mud kitchen for the older children inspires them to get involved. Children are totally absorbed in digging, stirring, pouring, making pies, making puddles and muddy water. The scene is a hive of activity which promotes independence, confidence to have a go and learning across all areas. It is evident that children know where things are and how they work. Children are encouraged by staff to take ownership of their environment by helping to tidy up to superhero music. Resources are well stocked with plenty of equipment for everyone.

p.5

provision

The manager has a good understanding of all aspects of the Early Years Foundation Framework. She leads by example and has a strong commitment to the professional development of all staff through training and qualifications. The manager is very reflective and strives for improvement. Through effective tracking of all children's progress she identifies areas of strength and areas for development. All staff have regular supervision meetings to discuss children's progress and their own professional development which is supported through training and mentoring. The manager carefully observes staffs interactions with children to ensure that teaching is consistently good.

p.6

provision

There is strong commitment across the nursery to keep children safe. All staff have attended safeguarding training and update this training regularly. All staff know the procedure to follow if they have concerns about a child or colleague. The manager, who takes the lead in safeguarding, is currently updating her knowledge around E-safety as part of the nurseries ongoing commitment to keeping children safe. There is always a qualified paediatric first aid trained member of staff on site and staff are deployed effectively so that incidents can be responded to quickly.

p.6

provision

The manager with support from the nursery committee and admin team at the school has implemented a robust system for staff recruitment, including a thorough induction programme for all new staff. The manager seeks the views of parents with a suggestion box in the lobby and feedback forms, which both feed into her programme of self- evaluation. The manager provides a wealth of information to parents about all aspects of the nursery, through newsletters and emails. When children start at nursery, parents are given a photographic booklet which clearly shows the rhythms and routines of the day. Parents share these with their children as part of the settling in process and comment that they find them very useful. To foster a sense of community parents are always invited in to work on projects such as the mud kitchen and developing the baby garden.

p.6

provision

Parents comment that they are very happy with the nursery and that the staff are a real strength. Parents comment that they know who their key person is but that they can talk to any of the staff as they are all knowledgeable. The manager has joined a consortium of other local early years settings of which she takes a lead in sharing good practice, training and developing and understanding the needs of the local community. This is a very well run nursery with a strong commitment to building upon the good practice that is already in place.

p.6

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

p.7

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.

p.7

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.

p.8

Setting details

Unique reference number EY242689 Local authority Kent Inspection number 826477 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 29 Name of provider Littleview Day Nursery Committee Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01732 353004

p.8

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.

p.8

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

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,

p.9

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’.

p.10

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10