The Meadows Nursery School

The Meadows Nursery School 18 St. Helens Crescent, HASTINGS, East Sussex, TN34 2EW

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16/10/2014 06/11/2013

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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

 Children make good progress because staff observe, assess and plan for their individual learning effectively. As a result, children are consistently challenged to reach the next stage in their development.  Children's communication and language development is promoted strongly by staff. When talking with children, staff ask effective questions and give children time to think and respond.  Children's personal, social and emotional development is supported well by staff. Consequently, children are confident learners and join together with friends to enjoy activities.  The manager monitors the nursery well. She has a good understanding of the strengths and areas they are targeting for further development.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Younger children have fewer outdoor opportunities to experience the natural world to stimulate their senses and curiosity.

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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 had a tour of the nursery.  The inspector observed children during activities both indoors and outdoors.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of the suitability of staff working with children and the provider's written self-evaluation and improvement plan.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day and from information included in the nursery's parent questionnaires.

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Information about the setting

The Meadows Nursery School registered in 2006. It is one of seven nurseries run by Places For Children Limited. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register, and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery operates from two floors of a large, detached house on the outskirts of Hastings. It is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm, all year round. Children have access to areoutdoor play areas. There are currently 100 children on roll in the early years age group. The nursery has funding for the provision of free early years education for children aged two, three and four. The nursery support children who are learning to speak English as an additional language and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The nursery employs 12 members of childcare staff. Of these, 11 hold qualifications at level 2 or above, including six with level 3, one with level 4, and two withlevel 6 qualifications.

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

 enhance opportunities for the younger children to explore and investigate sensory and natural resources in the outdoor area to support their further understanding of the world.

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who attend

Staff have a good understanding of how to support children's development across all areas of learning. Activities are planned well both for the individual child and for the group using information gathered from regular observations. An overall progress tracker completed each term ensures staff are fully aware of children's progress. This information is used effectively to identify children's overall progress and to identify any gaps in their learning in order to provide any extra support when needed. Each child has a learning journal where their experiences are recorded through observations, photographs and their own work. These journals are well organised and available to parents and children to look through. This enables parents to understand how their child is progressing and allows children to reflect on their own learning. Staff liaise with the local children's centre and other services for children with identified needs to provide additional targeted support for

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who attend

them. Staff provide effective support to children learning English as an additional language. They provide one-to-one and small focused activities, such as to support children's understanding of the links between words and objects using picture cards. These measures enhance children's development so that all children continue to make good progress in relation to their starting points and capabilities. Parents are encouraged to share information about their child through regular discussions and consultation evenings. Children have a daily communication diary, which is used to share information about the children's wellbeing and activities and experiences they have enjoyed. As a result, parents are well-informed and receive good information about their children's learning, helping them to support their child's progress at home.

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who attend

Staff engage with the children well to support their learning and progress. They use a variety of effective teaching methods to extend the children's learning and involvement in their play. All staff use effective questions to challenge the children's learning and thinking strongly while supporting their communication skills. For example, during the inspection a child found a snail in the garden and then shared a long conversation with a member of staff regarding where the snail lived, its family and what it might eat. There is an abundance of singing throughout the day which makes mundane tasks, such as tidying up a fun and happy experience which children willingly engage in. Staff also use singing to calm and settle the younger children in a very effective manner.

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who attend

Children's understanding of the world is supported strongly as they regularly sing and count in French at circle times. The maths room is well resourced with numbers, shapes, puzzles and modern technology equipment. This provides the children with a variety of opportunities to develop their good knowledge of numbers, shape and space. For example one child was observed pushing beads across the bead frame and independently counting them out aloud up to the number seventeen. Children develop their early writing skills effectively both indoors and outside. For instance, some younger children enjoyed making marks using a variety of crayons, pencils and dabbers on a large scale as staff had covered the entire floor with paper. Older children use paint brushes and water to write on the walls outside and enjoyed creating swirling patterns with the chalks on the blackboards.

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who attend

All children have access to large indoor climbing apparatus on a daily basis, which supports their physical development. They also have access to three garden areas where staff support their learning well. For example, staff talked about the plants and encouraged jumping and bat and ball games. This promotes children's understanding of the world around them and encourages children to develop their physical skills. During the inspection, children were observed to use their knowledge during outdoor play, such as when watering the plants a child poured water on a friend's wellingtons, saying 'now you will grow and grow like the flowers'. The younger children develop their emerging physical skills well, such as using small wheeled toys and a slide. However, there are few opportunities for children to explore natural materials outdoors to enhance their sensory experiences further.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the key-person system and implement it well. They build strong relationships with the children and their parents and develop a good knowledge of the individual children's interests both in and outside of the nursery. For example, children are greeted by name and staff ask about personal events, such as parties. This encourages a positive sense of belonging and supports children to feel safe and secure during their time at nursery.

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

Staff are good role models and encourage the children to use good manners and take turns while playing games. Children's independence is encouraged effectively throughout the day. For example, they are special helpers and spread their own bread using small knives under staff supervision at snack time. This helps children to develop a strong awareness of using equipment safely and develops their confidence to take appropriate risks.

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

Children are encouraged to learn about being healthy through various activities, such as fruit tasting and healthy cooking activities. For instance, when they make smoothies and vegetable soup. Children have their own water bottle, enabling them to independently access water through the day. They benefit from fresh air as they play outside in the garden areas, which promotes their good health as they are active outdoors. Children develop a secure understanding of staying safe as they take part in daily risk assessments and regular fire drills.

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

Children independently get dressed for the outdoors, putting on their coats and boots with staff offering support if needed. The environment supports self-choice as resources are stored at the children's level and are well labelled. As a result, children develop skills for their future learning and school readiness. Role-play with school uniforms and discussions about starting school support children in feeling confident as they prepare to move on to school.

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provision

The manager and staff have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities to meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Regularly reviewed policies and procedures including fire procedures, accident recording and medication policy are shared with parents from the outset. This means parents are able to develop a good understanding of these procedures. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding strategies. All staff complete safeguarding training as part of their induction and this is reviewed at their supervision meetings. This ensures they are up-to-date with any changes in legislation and are clear on their role and responsibilities, including the procedures to follow should they have any child protection concerns. Robust recruitment systems are in place to check the suitability of adults working with children. Daily and long term risk assessments ensure identified risks are managed and monitored to provide a

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provision

safe environment both inside and outdoors. Visitors to the setting must sign in and out of the visitor's book and produce identification, enabling the staff to closely monitor who children come into contact with. Children are well supervised and ratios are maintained at all times. As a result, children are safeguarded effectively.

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provision

The manager oversees the educational programmes extremely well with support from the companies education director. She effectively monitors and evaluates staff practice and ensures the educational programmes offered continually meet the learning and development requirements of all children. The manager models good practice and staff follow her lead to develop their skills. Staff plan purposeful experiences and activities that clearly support children's next steps in learning to enable them to making ongoing good progress.

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provision

The manager has an accurate view of the quality of teaching and constantly strives to improve it. She does this through the use of implementing effective systems of staff appraisals, staff observations and monthly team meetings. This enables the manager to identify staff training needs to help ensure staff teaching practice is of a continuously good standard. Consequently, this benefits the children's daily care and learning experiences

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provision

Staff welcome feedback from parents and carers. The manager and staff demonstrate a commitment to partnership working. They actively seek the views of parents through the use of questionnaires and verbal discussions. The information gathered is used to inform the nursery's ongoing action plan for improvement. The nursery is currently working towards extending the outdoor area experiences, including purchasing new resources for the younger children. Parents' comment that staff are approachable, friendly and give sound advice to them when needed. Staff have formed good working relationships with other professionals to promote children's learning and care needs consistently.

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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 EY340486 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 962818 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 42 Number of children on roll 100 Name of provider Places For Children Limited Date of previous inspection 06/11/2013 Telephone number 01424 422611

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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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