Cheeky Cherubs Nursery

Cheeky Cherubs Nursery Bridge House, 162 West End Road, MORCAMBE, Lancashire, LA4 4EF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 06/11/2014 15/11/2013

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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

 Staff have high expectations of children's abilities and capabilities. Planning to support children's individual needs is therefore effective and helps children make good progress in their learning.  Children are confident and self-assured as they happily play and engage in exciting and stimulating activities and experiences. This is as a result of staff who are attentive, responsive and understand how children learn.  There is good engagement between key persons and all parents and carers. This ensures that everyone is kept well informed about children's developmental progress over time.  Successful monitoring and self-evaluation in the nursery ensure that there is continuous improvement in children's learning experiences. Consistent performance management effectively supports staff in helping them to improve their knowledge and skills.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff sometimes miss valuable opportunities to teach children further about numbers, counting and one-to-one correspondence through everyday routine activities. Consequently, children's learning is not fully maximised to help them develop the skills in using mathematics for a specific purpose.  Staff have not yet enhanced the outdoor environment to include letters and numbers to further promote children's early literacy and numeracy.

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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 premises and observed children as they played and took part in activities.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the provider, the manager, staff and parents, taking their views into account.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of the qualifications and the suitability of all staff working in the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed a wide range of documentation including risk assessments, relevant policies and procedures, parental feedback, the nursery's self-evaluation form, planning and children's learning and assessment files.

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Information about the setting

Cheeky Cherubs Nursery opened in 2012 and is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is privately owned and operates from adapted premises in Morecambe, Lancashire. The nursery serves the immediate locality and the surrounding areas. The nursery opens five days a week, from 7.30am until 6pm, for 51 weeks of the year, excluding bank holidays. Children attend for a variety of sessions. Children are cared for across four rooms and have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. There is an additional room available for soft play and community events. There are currently 88 children on roll, 86 of whom are in the early years age range. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. There are currently eight staff working directly with

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Information about the setting

the children, all of whom have an appropriate early years qualification. One member of staff holds a degree, one staff member holds a childcare qualification at level 5, four members of staff hold a childcare qualification at level 4 and two hold a childcare qualification at level 3. The nursery receives support from the local authority. The nursery is a member of the National Day Nurseries Association.

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

 make the most of opportunities to teach children that mathematics has a purpose, for example, by using everyday routine activities to promote counting, calculating and one-to-one correspondence

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

 enhance the outdoor environment further, so that it is rich in print and number, for example, by introducing more labels, signs and numbers.

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who attend

The staff have a good understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Their secure knowledge of how children learn means that they provide an educational programme that is interesting and stimulating. Staff are proficient in ensuring that children's individual needs and interests are successfully planned and implemented. For example, young children needing more confidence and support in making new friends take part in small group activities, supported by their key person. As a result, they learn to share, take turns and develop their social skills. Staff gather a comprehensive amount of information from parents and carers when children first start. This helps to provide a baseline to enable developmental progress to be efficiently tracked. There is a continuous cycle of observations, which are successfully evaluated and inform all future planning. This means children are appropriately challenged

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who attend

and make good progress in relation to their starting points. Parental involvement is greatly valued as they are invited to make comments on their children's next steps in development. In addition, staff involve parents and carers by suggesting activities that can be shared in the home environment. This contributes to highly effective shared learning opportunities that support children's all round development. Staff are constantly available to discuss children's progress. Regular parents' evenings provide a worthwhile opportunity to discuss children's development and view their learning files. Consequently, parents and carers feel valued and are kept fully informed and involved in their children's learning. Parents are very complimentary and comment on the amazing progress their children have made.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is good. The recent re-organisation of the playrooms has had a positive outcome for all children. This is because the resources and activities match more closely with children's ages and stage of development. In the pre-school room and toddler room, children become happily engaged and deeply absorbed in playing and exploring activities of their choice. This means that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, develop positive attitudes and dispositions. Furthermore, children are suitably prepared for any future learning, for example, in school. Staff value and respect children's views, involving them wholly in the planning and implementation of activities. For example, pre-school children take great pleasure in describing how they made a firework picture using twigs to draw lines through the paint. Children confidently and competently explain that fireworks are made with gunpowder,

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who attend

showing their emerging understanding of how things work. Children take great delight in exploring the shaving foam. They use their hands and stretch across the table to manipulate the foam, making patterns and marks as they delight in the sensory exploration. Children animatedly chat to staff as they talk about how it feels and liken it to snow. Staff listen carefully to children's comments and promote further discussion by asking questions, such as 'How does it feel? and 'What does it look like?' As a result, children's physical and language skills are supported well. Staff working with the two-year- olds explain and demonstrate the process of painting hands and adding glitter to make their own firework pictures. Children are fascinated as they watch adults demonstrate the activity and then take part themselves. They thoroughly enjoy painting their own hands, making the marks on the paper and adding glitter. This activity supports the development

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who attend

of physical skills, hand-and-eye coordination and creativity skills. Staff praise children's achievements, supporting them in developing their self-confidence and self-assurance. Staff provide many mathematical opportunities for all children. Specific mathematics areas indoors are well resourced and enable children to learn about shape, space, measure and numbers. Staff teach children to count beyond the number 10 and children enjoy using their fingers as they count to 15. However, staff are less effective at teaching numbers and mathematical concepts through everyday routines. For example, children are given responsibilities for handing out plates and cups at snack and mealtimes. However, there are missed opportunities to support children's mathematical skills by counting how many are needed. This demonstrates that mathematics has a purpose. In addition, staff do not always encourage children to count each other as they line up or count the steps to the

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who attend

outdoor area, missing further mathematical opportunities. Children enjoy playing outdoors. The music stand provides the toddlers with an opportunity to experiment with different sounds. Staff encourage children to use the beaters to make different noises. They promote listening skills as they suggest beating the sticks quietly and then loudly. Staff ask questions, such as 'What does that sound like?' They build on children's recent experiences by asking them to think about what they heard the night before. 'Fireworks', children shout excitedly and proceed to listen further to the sound of the beater moving across the frame. The pre-school children develop their physical and coordination skills, as they take part in a parachute game. They thoroughly enjoy moving the ball across the parachute, laughing as they all work together to manage the movement of the ball. Staff successfully plan activities for the outdoor environment

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who attend

and add resources to meet children's interests and stage of development. However, it is not yet rich in print or number to support children's early literacy and numeracy skills.

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

Staff form very good relationships with children and families from the outset. Each child is allocated a key person who supports their all round development well. Effective settling-in procedures mean that staff get to know children well and become more familiar with their individual needs. Children soon form strong bonds and attachments, so that they feel confident and safe as they play. The nursery is inclusive and staff respect the individual needs of children and families. The emotional environment is caring and nurturing, fostering a culture where children are confident to explore and try new things. Staff support children's emotional well-being further as they provide children with opportunities to share their thoughts, opinions and feelings. For example, older children write their feelings on a leaf shape, which is hung on the feelings umbrella. Children are keen to show adults which of the leaves is theirs, showing pride in their contributions. Younger

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

children have their thoughts displayed on a feelings tree, enabling all staff to be aware and supportive of children's needs. Staff speak to children appropriately and expectations of behaviour are modelled by them. As a result, children's behaviour is very good and they develop respectful relationships towards each other, staff and other adults. Staff are clear and calm in their explanations as they teach children the difference between right and wrong. Children learn to look after each other and respect one another's differences as photographs displayed and resources represent diversity. Children confidently move around the nursery building, gaining an understanding of spatial awareness and being alert to hazards in the environment. For example, they carefully descend the steps to the outdoors, supported by staff that ensure their safety, while encouraging independence. Community officers attend the nursery to teach children about road safety and staff

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

successfully teach children about fire safety. Consequently, children develop an understanding of risk and an awareness of how to keep themselves safe.

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

Children's independence skills are successfully fostered. Staff encourage children to find and put on their own coats, help at meal and snack times and attend to their own toilet and hygiene needs. Children learn the importance of washing hands after using the toilet and before eating, as part of the daily routine. Staff are good role models and wear aprons and gloves to ensure that cross-contamination is kept to a minimum at snack and lunchtimes. Staff teach children to learn about making healthy choices and eating sensibly. A large display in the dining area clearly shows children the healthier options to choose, such as fruit and vegetables. A healthy eating poster describes sensible portion sizes for each food group. In addition, children are encouraged to try a different food each week, expanding their chosen healthy food options. Children's meals are cooked on the premises with menus clearly displayed. Parents comment on how useful this is, so that they can

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

plan meals at home to ensure a balanced diet is maintained. Children develop a positive attitude to exercise by taking part in a variety of physical activities. Children have opportunities to play in the soft play area, where they can jump, balance, roll and dance. They enjoy playing outside with the bicycles, scooters, small vehicles, balls and the parachute. Staff initiate games where children point to the parts of their body, feel their heart beats and become warmer through exercise. This helps children develop an awareness of how their bodies work and how to keep fit and healthy.

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

Children are well supported as they move rooms within the nursery and when they move on to school. Staff work closely together to ensure the individual needs of children are appropriately shared between key persons. Staff complete a checklist to ensure all aspects of care and education have been addressed. In addition, the key persons work closely with parents to ensure they are involved in the process adopting a joint approach. As a result, children's emotional well-being is fostered well. Staff prepare children well before they move on to school. They read stories and talk to children about any new routines. Teachers are invited to meet the children moving on and discuss their development. This helps establish mutual familiarisation between teachers and children.

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provision

The provider and managers have a good understanding of the responsibilities to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements. Staff demonstrate a strong commitment to ensuring children are kept safe and well. The managers are well trained in safeguarding and child protection and successfully disseminate their knowledge to staff. Consequently, staff are clear in their understanding of what to do should they have a concern over a child's welfare. Risk assessments are reviewed regularly and daily safety checks are completed by staff in all rooms to ensure children's safety. The managers and staff use the required documentation, such as records of accidents and medication. These are shared with parents when necessary. All managers and staff have been checked through the Disclosure and Barring Service check system, which further helps to protect children from harm. The high staff ratios mean that children are well supervised at all times and

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provision

ensures their needs are well met. All staff hold a first-aid qualification, meaning that any accidents are effectively attended to quickly and efficiently. Policies and procedures are regularly reviewed, understood by staff and shared with parents and carers. As a result, there is a collective approach to maintaining the safety and well-being of children.

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provision

Actions and recommendations from the previous inspection have been securely addressed by the manager. For example, the monitoring of staff practice is now well embedded. The manager regularly observes staff and provides constructive feedback as part of their performance management. Monthly supervision sessions ensure that children's learning files are closely monitored to ensure they are making good progress. In addition, any gaps in children's learning are identified to enable targeted plans to be put in place if necessary. Information collated about children informs the manager and the staff of areas where support for individual and groups of children are needed further. As a result, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress in relation to their individual needs. Staff are further supported by the provider and manager to continue developing their skills and qualifications. As a result, children benefit because

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provision

of the higher quality learning opportunities offered by a well-motivated and skilled staff team. Effective self-evaluation is in place and takes into account the views of staff, parents and children. Comments from children are interesting and relevant and provide a delightful interpretation of their views and opinions. Parent feedback forms are permanently available and parents' comment on how valuable they are. Managers and staff take note of all feedback and use comments to improve aspects of the provision. This has resulted in an improvement of the overall quality.

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provision

The quality of partnerships between the managers, staff and parents is very good. Parents are made very welcome and feel confident to discuss issues and areas of concern at any time with managers or key persons. Parents are provided with a good range of information about the operational management of the nursery. In addition, parents are able to view information on healthy eating, daily menus, children's centre activities and staff organisation, such as who the key persons are. The manager has good links with the local authority advisers and inclusion officer. Consequently, the nursery receives effective support with regard to policy and practice. Furthermore, staff supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are given further guidance from relevant agencies. This helps contribute to meeting all children's needs.

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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 EY446167 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 962535

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 73 Number of children on roll 88 Name of provider Cheeky Cherub's Partnership Date of previous inspection 15/11/2013 Telephone number 01524409409

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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

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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