Little Dragons Child Care Centre

Little Dragons Daycare Centre St. Georges C of E Primary School, London Road, St. Georges, TELFORD, Shropshire, TF2 9LJ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/10/2014 07/05/2014

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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

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This provision is good

 Staff provide a good standard of teaching across the seven areas of learning, using individual planning, to support each child's identified next steps in learning. As a result, children make good progress and they are well prepared for their next stage in learning, such as school.  Comprehensive policies and procedures are in place, implemented effectively by staff and thoroughly monitored by management. This ensures that children are effectively safeguarded and their well-being is well promoted at all times.  Leadership and management is good. Managers effectively evaluate the provision, taking account of the views of parents, children, staff and external agencies. This informs decision making, in order to continually improve the service for children and families.  Partnerships with parents and other professionals are well established. This ensures that each child's unique care and learning needs are well promoted by all those

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Opportunities for children to extend their mathematical development are not yet fully maximised outdoors.  There is scope to further develop the information gained from parents about their children's development, on entry to the setting.

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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 and interactions between staff and children in the main playroom and the outside learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector conducted a joint observation of an outdoor activity with the lead professional.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager of the provision, the lead professional and a local authority officer.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation and a range of policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children, the provider's self-evaluation form and improvement plans.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers from information included in the setting's own parent survey.

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Information about the setting

Little Dragons Daycare Centre was registered in 2006 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a demountable classroom in the grounds of St George's Primary School in Telford, Shropshire. It is a not- for-profit setting, which is managed by a voluntary committee. The setting serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from one large playroom and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. Extended outdoor facilities belonging to the on- site school are also utilised. The setting employs nine members of childcare staff. Of these, all hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and level 3, including one with Early Years Professional Status. The setting opens Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 8am until 6pm and children aged two to five years old attend for a variety of sessions. The setting also provides after school and holiday provision for

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Information about the setting

children up to eight years of age. There are currently 85 children on roll, 40 of whom are in the early years age group. The setting provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The setting has strong links to the host school.

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

 enhance opportunities in the outdoor environment to support children in their acquisition of number skills, for example, through creating numbered parking bays for correspondingly numbered wheeled toys and providing interactive number lines

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

 collect additional information from parents about children's existing skills on entry to the setting, for example, by extending the current All about me document, and use the information to help make initial assessments and plan for each unique child.

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who attend

Children are enthusiastic and motivated learners who make good progress in all areas of their learning and development. This is because staff provide a good standard of teaching across the seven areas of learning, using individual planning to support each child's identified next steps in learning. Children are regularly observed by staff during their play, to assess their skills and identify their current interests. This information is then used to inform the weekly planning, which has a good balance of adult-led activities and a variety of child-choice opportunities that are stimulating and fun. Children therefore have opportunities to develop their own ideas and interests through the resources and activities available. Staff are skilful at developing children's learning at every opportunity. For example, a leaf found in the water tray outdoors prompts an exploration of the scientific concept of sinking and floating. Mathematical understanding of quantity is promoted

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who attend

through supportive comments from staff regarding the bucket that children are filling with water being described as half full and full. However, opportunities for children to extend their mathematical development relating to numbers are not yet fully maximised outdoors. Children demonstrate that they are active learners as they make decisions about their play. For example, they independently use the outdoor tap to fill containers with water, which they then transport to the pipes and guttering to explore water flow. Overall, children make good progress in their learning, which enables them to be well prepared for the next stage of their lives and in preparation for school.

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who attend

Children make very good progress in their communication and language skills, enabling them to become confident communicators. For example, children who speak English as an additional language are supported well by staff, who obtain key words from their home language from parents. Children enjoy sharing picture books and stories with staff and engage happily with songs and action rhymes, copying the actions led by staff and requesting favourite songs. Staff acknowledge the favourite stories of children, developing creative displays indoors and outdoors with them to extend their enjoyment and interest. Staff model language well. They speak clearly, listen to children's responses and repeat words to support further language development. Children are continually engaged in conversation by staff who listen to their responses and ask open-ended questions to further their thinking. For example, outdoors staff ask, 'I wonder what made the grass

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who attend

wet?' which encourages children to think before proudly responding, 'the rain'. The setting is a print-rich environment where displays are labelled with print and children learn to recognise their name by using the self-registration boards. Children participate in activities to develop their listening and attention skills before advancing to letters and sounds activities in order to be able to recognise and say letter sounds. These adult-led activities assist them well in developing their early reading skills. Opportunities for early writing are developed through a wide range of sensory activities, such as making marks in sand or paint. Activities such as these develop children's physical skills and their early understanding that the marks they make have meaning. These opportunities support children's developing literacy skills well, in readiness for the next stage in their learning, such as school.

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who attend

Partnerships between parents and staff are well established and are given a high priority by staff. This is because staff acknowledge the importance of developing positive relationships in order to promote consistency of support concerning children's care, learning and development. Parents share information about their child's personality, interests and basic skills on entry to the setting through an All about me document. This enables the key person to meet the needs of children from the outset. However, there is scope to extend the existing All about me document completed with parents, to include additional information about children's existing skills on entry to the setting. This will support staff in their making initial assessments and planning for each unique child. Parents are actively encouraged to review their child's learning profile at any time and to contribute observations about their child's learning at home with staff. Summaries of each

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who attend

child's learning and development are shared regularly with parents and the required progress checks for children between the ages of two and three years are in place. They are completed with parents at the appropriate time. This ensures that children's needs are continually assessed and planned for and those who require additional support receive this at the earliest opportunity. Staff encourage parents to be involved within the setting and hold stay and play sessions for them to attend with their children.

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

Children are very happy and settle quickly into this welcoming setting, where they develop positive relationships with one another and staff. This is because staff are genuinely caring and take time to get to know each child and their unique needs. A well-established key- person system is in place, enabling children and their parents to develop a bond with a key person who gets to know them well. In addition, each child has a buddy key person to ensure that there is always a familiar adult to support each child and their family. Parents comment that their children settle quickly and are happy to attend, which results in them being confident to leave their child in the care of the staff. Parents share information with staff about their child's care needs and interests on entry to the setting. This enables staff to appropriately support children's needs and provide for their interests from the outset.

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

As a result, children have strong and secure emotional attachments with staff. This enables them to confidently explore the environment, enjoy their time in the setting and make good progress in all areas of their learning and development. Older children are fully prepared for their move into the school environment because the setting has strong links with the on-site school. Children and staff use the school grounds for a range of activities, giving staff opportunities to talk to children about what they will do when they move on to school. Staff ensure that they are confident and fully prepared intellectually, socially and emotionally. Staff take children into school for visits and arrange for teachers to visit them in the setting. As a result, children make the move in to full time education more easily because of the positive steps taken to ease this move.

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

Children develop their independence in self-help skills extremely well. This is because staff have high expectations of them and provide the children with many opportunities to develop their skills. For example, they manage their own toileting and hygiene needs and put on their own coats for outdoor play, as soon as they are able. At mealtimes, children serve their own food and clear away their plates and cutlery afterwards. Each day, a child is selected to be the special helper, taking responsibility for helping to set the table for lunch and using the egg timer to give the other children a five minute warning that it will soon be tidy up time. This helps to promote their confidence and children learn how to take responsibility. An understanding of the importance of hygiene is fostered through staff ensuring that children wash their hands after using the bathroom, before meals and after outdoor or messy play. It is evident that because children have daily opportunities to

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

manage these skills for themselves, they learn to complete these tasks competently, enhancing their sense of achievement. The playroom and outdoor environment are well organised and support children to self-select toys and equipment, enabling them to make choices about what they would like to play with. Positive behaviour is highly evident and children happily play together as staff are good role models who provide a calm and caring environment. Children are encouraged to share and to work together, receiving praise for doing this, which reinforces their positive behaviour. This results in children being polite and respectful, and confident to communicate their ideas with others. These personal skills in managing their emotions and developing positive relationships support children extremely well towards the next stage of their learning, such as school.

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

Children enjoy daily exercise, developing physical skills and confidence as they enthusiastically play in the outdoor area. Staff supervise children in using a range of resources, such as climbing frames and wheeled toys. Children learn how to take risks safely as staff encourage them to challenge themselves on the school adventure playground. They also explore the Forest school area where they act out favourite stories. Regular yoga sessions are also provided through an external teacher. This, as well as providing physical exercise, enables the children to learn about how to cooperate with other adults. Snacks provided by the setting are well balanced and nutritious and all dietary needs are very well catered for. Meals are provided by the host school, or alternatively parents can provide a packed lunch for their child. Staff develop children's understanding of the importance of healthy diets, through discussions and reinforcement

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

during activities, such as baking cakes, that these should be eaten in moderation. Mealtimes are social occasions as staff and children chat about their day and staff gently encourage children to try new foods. Opportunities to use snack times as learning opportunities are used regularly by staff. For example, children make spooky snacks to link in with Halloween. This involves children peeling tangerines and adding celery to form a pumpkin. They learn to use knives safely to cut up bananas and then add facial features with raisins, to make ghosts. This is thoroughly enjoyed by children who carry out the tasks skilfully and then enthusiastically eat their healthy snack.

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provision

The management team have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities in ensuring that the setting meets the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. A wide range of policies and procedures, risk assessments and safety measures are all in place, implemented by staff and monitored by management. Staff carry out daily risk assessments, indoors and outdoors, helping to ensure that the environment is free from hazards and that resources and equipment are safe for the age range of children using these. Risk assessments are also in place for the regular local outings, which the children are taken on, assuring their safety and well-being when away from the premises. Staff's knowledge of the safeguarding procedures is strong and they have a clear understanding of their role and duty to report any concerns they may have about children or their colleagues. The written safeguarding policy contains detailed information of the

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provision

procedures to follow should any concerns about a child be identified and staff are confident regarding the action they should take. Policies and procedures are shared with parents when first joining the setting and are available in the main room at all times. Safe recruitment procedures are in place to ensure that new staff are suitably qualified and vetted. On appointment, a thorough induction process is carried out, supporting new staff to settle into the setting and enabling them to fully understand their roles and responsibilities. All of these measures now in place mean that effective steps are taken to minimise risks and to keep children safe, healthy and secure.

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provision

The setting has made good progress since the last inspection and the subsequent monitoring visit. The management team and staff have been highly proactive in working with local authority officers to address the actions and recommendation raised. These include improving the safeguarding policy and developing staff's knowledge of the actions to take, implementing effective staff supervision sessions to promote continual professional development, management monitoring the quality of observations and assessments, ensuring that the key-person system is effective and that noise levels in the playroom do not distract children from their learning. As a result, children's safety and welfare are now much more secure. Staff benefit from regular one-to-one sessions with members of the management team, which are used to identify support, highlight training and meet their development needs. They carry out observations of staff when they are

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provision

engaged in play and planned activities with children and provide opportunities for staff to reflect upon their own practice. Through this, they gain constructive feedback on how to enhance their skills further. Staff receive mandatory training in safeguarding and first aid and attend additional courses provided by the local authority, when these are available. It is evident that recent staff training on the Early Years foundation Stage requirements has had a positive impact upon children's learning. This has provided staff with an enhanced knowledge and understanding of the provision of purposeful play and learning opportunities. The setting benefits from having a lead professional who holds Early Years Professional Status. She is instrumental in developing effective planning and supporting staff in how to meet the educational needs of children. Staff work well as a team and support one another to reflect on their practice in order to provide good quality learning

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provision

opportunities for children. Evaluation of the setting's strengths and areas for development is ongoing and involves contributions from staff, parents and children. Parents are welcome to share feedback verbally, and through annual questionnaires. The setting staff team has ongoing improvement plans and they work well together to achieve identified developments. This demonstrates the aspirations of the staff team to continuously improve the quality of the provision. Systems are in place to monitor children's progress through their learning profiles and a computerised tracking system. This means that management are able to identify those who are making good progress and that any gaps in learning or the provision can be addressed swiftly.

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provision

Effective partnerships between parents and staff are well established. This ensures that each child's care and learning needs are well met throughout their time in the setting. Parents report that they are very happy with the standard of care that their children receive. Daily verbal information is shared with parents of all children and information about the daily adult-led activities and learning objectives are displayed for parents. This keeps parents up to date with how their daily care needs have been met, new skills or interests that have been observed and specific activities their child has participated in. This two-way sharing of information helps to keep everyone informed and up to date about the children's individual needs. Parents receive regular newsletters and other information is posted on the notice boards. Staff also offer frequent updates on their children's progress, where their next steps in learning are shared, enabling parents to

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provision

support learning at home. Effective partnerships with external agencies and the host school are also well established and these help staff to meet children's needs effectively.

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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 EY413204 Local authority Telford & Wrekin Inspection number 976338

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 28 Number of children on roll 85 Name of provider Little Dragons Childcare Ltd Date of previous inspection 07/05/2014 Telephone number 01952567756

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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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