Lindfield Pre-School Nursery

Lindfield Pre-School Nursery Chiltern Youth Centre, Chiltern Avenue, AMERSHAM, Buckinghamshire, HP6 5AH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 15/10/2014 02/04/2009

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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

 Staff maintain strong relationships with children and have an exemplary understanding of how these promote children's wellbeing.  Staff are highly effective in meeting children's individual needs. Children gain self- confidence as they play and explore in a stimulating, well-resourced environment.  Two-way communication with the parents is excellent, actively involving them in their child's learning both in pre-school and at home.  Exceptional partnerships with professionals and specialists help staff to recognise and meet children's unique needs.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the indoor and outdoor learning environment.  The inspector toured the premises with the deputy manager.  The inspector held a meeting with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment and planning records, staff qualifications, suitability checks and safeguarding procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to during the inspection and from written feedback.

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Information about the setting

Lindfield Pre-school Nursery registered in 2003. It is run by a voluntary management committee of parents and operates from three rooms in the Chiltern Youth Club in Amersham-on-the-Hill, in Buckinghamshire. Children have access to the fully enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. The nursery receives funding for early education. It is open each weekday during term-time and sessions are from 9am until 3.30pm, with a breakfast club from 8.30am until 9am if required. The sessions are sub-divided into morning, lunch and afternoon groupings. There are currently 39 children on roll. There are 11 staff members, of whom eight hold relevant childcare qualifications.

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

 extend further the self-evaluation process to more fully include contributions from all staff.

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who attend

The nursery environment is child-centred and highly stimulating. The staff are very nurturing and welcoming. There is a wide range of stimulating resources that children access both indoors and outdoors, and this is a particular strength. The staff put a great deal of thought into planning the layout of the environment, ensuring it is exceedingly interesting and captures children's imagination. Staff have highly effective strategies to encourage children's independence. They offer guidance and provide excellent support in children's play, helping them to learn successfully. This effectively helps the children to make independent choices and decisions about what they are going to play with and where. Therefore, children quickly become confident and independent learners. Staff promote respectful behaviour and good manners and, as a result, children behave very well. They understand the nursery rules and need little support to share and take turns.

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who attend

Staff are exceptionally skilled at teaching children to communicate and negotiate. For example, they encourage children to share the new toys in the home corner by counting and dividing them up fairly. Staff provide exciting opportunities that promote the children's physical development extremely well. Children make full use of the outdoor play area to engage in physical play. For instance, they hop and step across raised platforms, adapting their strides, and they enjoy jumping in muddy puddles of different depths. Children confidently negotiate a wide range of physical play equipment and fine tune their balancing skills on colourful stepping stones of different heights. They also use sit-and-ride toys along the paved paths, helping their spatial awareness. Indoors, children eagerly use their hands and feet to operate an air pump, directing a soft ball across the room. They independently take responsibility and delight in returning the ball

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who attend

so that everyone has a fair turn. Children demonstrate skill and control by carefully rolling, or gently throwing, the ball towards its target. Children also hold pencils correctly and pick up small pieces of paper for their collage activities demonstrating excellent control and coordination.

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who attend

Staff promote children's understanding of literacy with well-resourced book corners, props, puppets and writing areas. As a result, children independently look at books in the cosy reading areas. Children have access to a good range of mathematical resources within the indoor area including tape measures, weighing scales and clocks. At the snack table, discussions about 'full' and 'empty' promote the use of mathematical language. Staff support children to develop an understanding of the natural world by encouraging them to use their senses to explore and investigate. For example they discuss the differences between rough and smooth objects. Staff extend children's learning well by encouraging them to smell and taste a pineapple and to explore it's texture, inside and out. As a result of such fascinating experiences, the children are interested and eager to learn.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is consistently high across all aspects of the nursery. The manager shares her vision of children achieving their full potential. Staff's enthusiastic and consistent teaching approach enables all children to be actively engaged and highly focused in the activities and resources. Staff support children sensitively and extend their thinking by talking about real life, home experiences that help them to make connections. For example, children actively discuss how the washing at home is hung out to dry by using big and small clips on the washing line. Throughout daily routines and activities, staff continually stimulate children's development in mathematics and literacy. Staff incorporate new vocabulary such as 'deep' and 'shallow' as children jump in each of the different size muddy puddles in the garden.

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who attend

Staff know the children very well and the key person can talk in detail about their key children's individual strengths and next steps in learning. Staff talk to the children about what they are playing with and generally use open ended questions to extend their thinking and learning. Staff offer opportunities for children to listen and follow instructions in self chosen play and group activities, developing good skills for their future learning. The ethos at the nursery encourages children to be confident as they talk to each other and this is evident, even among those who are new. Staff work with a clear purpose of making positive contributions to children's learning. They tailor children's planning and assessments towards each child's individual needs, supporting their excellent progress. Staff are highly knowledgeable about child development and know the children who attend the nursery extremely well.

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who attend

There is a strong emphasis on children's social and emotional development, communication, and physical development in the first term. This ensures children acquire the skills they need to learn and quickly become confident within the nursery. Children settle quickly and easily at the beginning of their session, because excellent routines mean they rapidly gain confidence to choose their own activities. Staff set out an extremely wide range of resources and activities indoors. They also take a variety of resources outside, such as puzzles and drawing equipment. The children concentrate well and become self-assured and independent, moving purposefully between the different areas. The activities provided are rich, varied and imaginative with a superb balance between adult and child led activities. The stimulating environment enhances all aspects of children's learning and development. Consequently, they are enthusiastic to

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who attend

learn and explore their surroundings confidently

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who attend

Staff use a clearly linked system of observations, planning and assessment to support and provide evidence of children's progress. Therefore, children receive support to make excellent progress in all areas of their learning and development. Parents praise the fact that the nursery staff always ensure they are available to talk to parents when they wish. The manager is a strong believer of getting to know the family as a whole and not just the child. Staff support parents in their children's development even before they begin at nursery. They offer a Wednesday morning parent and toddler group where staff take the time to talk to parents, which helps them to really get to know their children well. This, together with written information from parents and flexible settling in sessions, help children to make a smooth move between home and the nursery. The staff also engage with parents on a daily basis, keeping them informed about the activities and their

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who attend

children's learning. In addition, they offer meetings with parents, during coffee mornings, three times a year. At these, parents with children of a similar age are able to discuss and exchange ideas about how best to support their children's progress. This two-way flow of information allows children to make great progress both at home and at the nursery.

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

Simple, well practised routines give children a very strong sense of belonging and well- being. Children contribute well to making the nursery a safe and happy place. They follow clear expectations and rules, for example, they know to be kind and gentle, and can share and take turns well. Staff consistently apply these expectations, focussing on positive behaviours and good manners. As a result, children are very polite, asking nicely if they want something and saying 'please' and 'thank you'. Staff recognise all children's efforts as achievements and offer praise, which encourages children to repeat their actions. As a result, children develop strong social skills as they learn the importance of building friendship and working together as a team.

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

The nursery has a clear, robust key-person system. Staff know all the children exceptionally well and confidently explain where they are in terms of learning and development, and where their interests lie. All staff build positive and secure attachments with all children and parents. Children rapidly develop strong friendships between each other and the adults around them. At snack-time they sit together and happily wait their turn to choose from a selection of fruit and vegetables. Children often have opportunities to cook and prepare their own healthy snacks such as fruit kebabs. Staff encourage children to try a range of fruit discussing their likes and dislikes. Staff place utmost priority on ensuring that children are safe within the nursery. They complete daily risk assessments and take prompt action to minimise potential risks. They promote children's health and well-being exceptionally well by ensuring that they have

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

plenty of exercise and fresh air every day. Staff support children well to develop their independent hygiene practices, including understanding the importance of washing their hands regularly and thoroughly. These positive practices minimise the spread of infection. Staff actively encourage children to take risks in a controlled environment. For example, children show a sense of achievement and pride as they explore climbing equipment, looking around them with pride as they stand on each different level.

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

Staff skilfully support children to settle. They place great emphasis on supporting children so that they can move easily from one group to another during their time at nursery. The exceptional teaching results in high levels of achievement and confidence, which prepares children well for school. Children who speak English as an additional language, including those at the early stages of learning English, are making outstanding progress. This is because of the sharp focus staff place on developing language within the nursery. Staff also strongly promote children's home languages , using key words to support their daily routines. Over many years, the nursery has developed really strong links with the local schools. Teachers from link schools attend the setting and leave folders containing information about school, which staff use with children to support them to prepare for their move.

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provision

Children's safety and welfare is at the heart of practices within the pre-school. The manager leads staff exceptionally well, ensuring that they are all aware of safeguarding procedures and follow these rigorously. As a result, staff have a comprehensive understanding of child protection and know what to do if they have concerns about a child's welfare. The management team ensure that policies and procedures are kept up to date. The nursery is secure, indoors and outdoors, to prevent the risk of unauthorised access, and supervision is vigilant to ensure children's safety at all times. Recruitment procedures are robust and appropriate checks take place to verify staff suitability, qualifications and experience.

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provision

The manager's enthusiasm inspires all staff to deliver the highest possible standards of care and learning. Therefore, children receive support from a highly motivated and dedicated team that all share the highest aspirations to achieve continuously outstanding results. Staff praise the cohesive team work at the nursery and they value the positive working environment that this fosters. As a result, the nursery presents a warm, friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Overall, there are extremely good arrangements for promoting continual improvement within the nursery. The manager and deputy manager confidently talk about what works well for the nursery and clearly identify areas in which they want to improve. They take account of the views of parents and frequently include discussions about refining practice during team meetings. This means that staff offer some contributions to the self-evaluation process but do not always take a fully active

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provision

role in the process. However, the manager places a strong emphasis on supporting staff's well-being and professional development. The manager frequently shares information from her training and research with staff and gives them opportunities to do likewise. Consequently, they share best practice and receive up to date information to develop their own practice further. The manager very effectively monitors the quality of teaching and the progress children make over time through continuous assessment. Strategies to track children's progress are successful, supporting staff to plan very specifically to promote children's individual learning. This allows the manager and staff team to promptly identify and close any emerging gaps in children's learning. The manager conducts regular supervision meetings with all her staff to identify any training needs and enable ongoing professional development. The highly experienced special

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provision

educational needs coordinator helps to identify where children may need additional support arrangements for this to be put in place. The nursery values the partnerships and support they have built up with the local authority, agencies and other professionals, which enable them to meet children's unique needs.

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provision

The manager and her colleagues maintain strong partnerships in their local community. They have regular educational visits, for example from the local fire brigade and the police, also taking the children on outings. For example, children enjoy trips to the library and local shops, and sometimes take short train rides.

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provision

The management and staff build positive and effective partnerships with parents. Staff value parents highly, as the primary contributors to their children's learning and involve them well in planning for their children's future learning. During the inspection, parents were very keen to speak personally to give their views. They were overwhelmingly positive, valuing the work of the manager and staff very highly indeed. Parents describe the 'amazing level of care and communication.' They also say that children are extremely eager to attend and they are always excited about what they have learned.

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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 EY234449 Local authority Buckinghamshire Inspection number 832839 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 36 Number of children on roll 39 Name of provider Lindfield Pre-school Nursery Committee Date of previous inspection 02/04/2009 Telephone number 01494 725 630

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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

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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