Little Legs Nursery

Little Legs Nursery 6 Rochford Road, SOUTHEND-ON-SEA, Essex, SS2 6SP

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/10/2014 29/04/2014

p.1

early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 4 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

p.1

This provision is good

 The quality of teaching in the nursery is good because planned activities take into account children's interests and their individual learning priorities. As a result, children make good progress as they engage in purposeful learning experiences, both indoors and outside.  Warm, caring and nurturing relationships develop between children and staff. This means that children are happy, behave well and become confident learners.  Partnerships with parents and other professionals are effectively promoted to ensure that information is frequently shared to support children in their learning and development.  Staff are fully aware of their safeguarding responsibilities. Robust risk assessment, good supervision and effective child protection procedures contribute to keeping children safe from harm.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because

 The opportunities for children to think critically and use expressive language are not always fully embraced.  On occasions, staff are not maximising the opportunities to extend the exploration and mathematical skills of the older or more able children.

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

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the indoor and outdoor learning environments.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector held discussions with the management, staff and children.  The inspector viewed a sample of children's development records.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector saw evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff, self-evaluation, risk assessment and policies and procedures.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

p.2

Information about the setting

Little Legs Nursery was registered in 2013 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from a converted doctor's surgery in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. It is one of six settings privately run and managed by Little Legs Limited. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from playrooms on two floors and there is an enclosed courtyard garden available for outdoor play. The nursery employs eight members of childcare staff. Of these, six staff hold appropriate early years qualifications. One member of staff holds Early Years Teacher status, one member of staff holds a qualification at level 4, three members of staff hold a qualification at level 3 and one member of staff has a qualification at level 2. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are between 7am and 7pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 41 children on roll who

p.3

Information about the setting

are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

p.3

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

 encourage all staff to give children time to respond when asking open-ended questions, to fully promote children's critical thinking and expressive language skills

p.3

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

 enhance children's active learning, for example, by extending the range of resources that offer mathematical challenge and encourage older and more able children to experiment and explore weight and measure.

p.3

who attend

Teaching is good because staff have a secure understanding of how children and babies learn and develop through play. A wide and varied range of age-appropriate activities are planned to cover all areas of learning, with a successful blend of adult-led or child-initiated experiences. The key-person system is well embedded and staff take the time to observe their key children closely. They also use knowledge from discussions with parents to plan for children's interests. Comprehensive learning journals are kept for each child containing a variety of observations and assessments, annotated photographs and purposeful next steps. Staff complete regular progress reports, including the required progress check for children between the ages of two and three years. This attention to detail means that children are assessed accurately and staff are enabled to plan appropriate targets to help children progress further. In addition, parents are provided with a range of opportunities

p.3

who attend

to pass on any comments about their child's development at home, which is then used to inform the setting's planning. This shared approach to children's learning and development successfully contributes to the good progress children make and demonstrates a continuity of learning between the setting and home.

p.4

who attend

Children's language and communication skills are mainly promoted well, as group times allow children to engage in a range of conversations and sing new and familiar songs. Interaction is lively and encourages children to build on their vocabulary. In addition, children and babies learn and use sign language to make requests known and to indicate their emotions. Often good quality questioning is used to extend children's communication and language skills. However, on occasions, the staff are too quick to answer for children rather than giving them time to process and formulate their own answers. This means children are not consistently encouraged to build on their rapidly developing critical and creative thinking skills. Children who speak English as an additional language and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities are effectively supported. They achieve well because of timely interventions and high-quality support from staff and other

p.4

who attend

professionals that is put in place to help them succeed.

p.4

who attend

Children are successfully gaining the skills necessary for school and their future learning. They listen to instructions and are attentive at group times. The environment is rich in print, with a variety of books, captions and labels, both indoors and outside. Children hold books correctly and talk confidently about what they see in the pictures. Some children also know that print carries meaning and act out their favourite stories. Children show great enthusiasm when developing their understanding of sounds and letters through rhymes and they recognise the initial letter of their names. Daily routines are used well to encourage children to count, calculate and point out numbers. For example, children work out how many plates are needed on the lunch table and they hop and jump on the numbers displayed in the garden. However, there is room to extend children's mathematical skills further, by providing more opportunities and resources for older

p.4

who attend

children to explore and experiment with size, weight and measurement; for example, by using tools, such as measuring scales and jugs when making the play dough.

p.4

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

Children are happy and confident because staff are sensitive and develop a warm rapport with them. A well-established key-person system exists, helping babies and children to form close attachments to a special person. This helps them to feel safe and secure and supports the sharing of information with parents to make sure that children's individual and specific needs are met. For example, staff gather plenty of information about children who need extra support and care plans are devised for those who have special dietary requirements. Settling-in visits are arranged before children start at the nursery, with the aim of helping them to adjust to the new surroundings. As a result, they begin to separate from their parents with as little anxiety as possible. Effective support continues as children move to the next room due to well-organised transfer arrangements. The new key person receives an up-to-date summary of children's interests and stage of learning from their

p.4

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

previous key person, to support continuity of care and emotional well-being. Similarly, children are emotionally well prepared by staff for the eventual move on to school and key persons liaise with local teachers, so that information about children can be shared.

p.4

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

Children behave well and display polite, courteous behaviour. They learn to care for and consider the needs of others when playing and sharing resources. Their confidence and self-esteem grows as they respond to plenty of praise and encouragement from staff. As a result, they have a willingness to participate, learn and develop good habits for the future. Children are independent and explore their surroundings with confidence. They learn to keep themselves safe and consequently understand the safety rules. For example, children steer scooters with control to avoid bumping into their friends and they practise fire drills so they know how to evacuate the premises in an emergency.

p.5

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

Children's health and safety is effectively promoted. High standards of cleanliness are maintained throughout the premises. Adults remove their shoes on arrival, so that babies and young children play on very clean flooring. The nursery kitchen has recently been inspected by an environmental health officer and awarded five stars for food hygiene. Children show a good awareness of what constitutes a healthy lifestyle. They enjoy nutritious foods and gain useful independence skills at mealtimes. For example, they serve their own foods and pour their own drinks. Children also understand why they need to dress appropriately for outdoor play and learn to put on coats and shoes by themselves. They exercise, develop good coordination as they move in different ways when using outdoor play equipment and join in action songs. The staff notice when babies and young children become tired and there are very good arrangements organised within the daily

p.5

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

routine for children to sleep soundly and undisturbed.

p.5

provision

The management and staff have a good understanding of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Significant improvements have been made to the provision following the last inspection and monitoring visit by Ofsted. As a result, the previous actions have successfully been addressed. Children are effectively safeguarded because all staff have a secure knowledge of how to protect children from possible harm or abuse, which is enhanced through regular child protection training. There are clear policies and procedures in place, which follow the Local Safeguarding Children Board guidelines and these, are well known to staff. They are vigilant in assessing potential risks to children and take steps to reduce these, both indoors and outside. Each nursery room is monitored by cameras, which are accessed by parents and staff for the purpose of reassurance, safety and transparency. The provider follows robust recruitment guidelines to ensure all staff

p.5

provision

are suitable to fulfil their role. All staff are checked when they start working and regular checks are carried out to ensure they remain suitable to work with children. All staff complete a detailed induction, which enables them to enhance their skills and knowledge further. As a result, all staff have an in-depth knowledge of how the nursery operates.

p.5

provision

Reflective practice and self-evaluation is very effective and takes into account the views of all of those at the nursery. Staff embrace the support of the local authority advisers and access a variety of training events, to develop their knowledge and skills and improve outcomes for children. Regular formal supervision provides staff with opportunities to discuss their key children's development and identify any training needs or areas of interest they would like to extend. The manager also observes staff practice continually as she works alongside them in the playrooms. This gives her a clear oversight of individual strengths and areas of practice that need to be developed further. The progress of both individual children and groups of children is systematically monitored to ensure that any gaps in learning are identified and targeted through planning. The manager has developed effective links with other early years professionals and services from the local children's

p.5

provision

centres. This provides children with good support to close any gaps or delays in development and promotes their equality of opportunity.

p.6

provision

Partnerships with parents and carers are strongly supported. Parents are well informed about the nursery, and their children's progress and care through a range of written and verbal communication. The noticeboards are frequently updated with informative displays and details of activities and forthcoming events. Discussions with parents show they appreciate and understand the nursery's approach to teaching and learning. They make very complementary comments about the efforts of the staff team and commend the ways in which they help to the settle children and support their individual needs.

p.6

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

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 EY472435 Local authority Southend on Sea Inspection number 978466 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 35 Number of children on roll 41 Name of provider Little Legs Limited Date of previous inspection 29/04/2014 Telephone number 01277621064

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