Wildflowers Kindergarten

Wildflowers Kindergarten Brockwood Park, Bramdean, Alresford, SO24 0LQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/11/2014 27/03/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Children are highly valued as unique individuals. Staff make precise and accurate assessments of children, which are constantly monitored, challenged and adapted to secure timely interventions.  There is an extensive focus on learning in the outdoor environment. Children access a wide range of natural resources, which they use effectively to learn new skills. They thrive on being able to direct their own play, make decisions and explore for themselves.  Children are excited and motivated by the highly stimulating activities that take account of their learning needs and interests. They are fully engaged in their learning and make outstanding progress, taking account of their abilities when starting in the kindergarten.  The management and staff are dedicated professionals who are totally committed, enthusiastic and determined to provide children with the best learning and development opportunities through successful evaluation and development planning.

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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 compulsory part 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 in the indoor barn area of the kindergarten.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spent three hours in the natural environment outdoors observing the children's learning and development.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the owner/manager and the two members of staff, and invited the owner/manager to take part in a joint observation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of planning documents, a selection of children's records and the kindergarten's policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of five parents spoken to on the day and of testimonials from parents held in the kindergarten.

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Information about the setting

Wildflowers Kindergarten is situated at Brockwood Park between Bramdean and West Meon. It was founded in 2005 and is privately owned. Wildflowers has an experiential approach to education that respects each child's development. It uses woods, parkland and a converted barn with a grassed space as its learning environment. The kindergarten operates on weekdays, term time, from 9.15am until 3pm. At present there are 25 children on roll. Activities are offered during some school holidays. Three staff work with the children including the owner/manager. One person is a qualified teacher, and another staff member holds a recognised early years qualification. The kindergarten is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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

 ensure that children learn to use touch screens, in line with development plan ideas.

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who attend

The manager and staff have worked meticulously to develop an exceptional understanding of how to implement the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children are engaged, confident and extremely eager to progress with the result that their learning and progress are impressive. Staff have expert knowledge of how to use the outdoor environment to promote learning and development. They consistently question children and challenge them to think for themselves, as well as offering support to adopt a problem-solving approach when a child encounters a difficulty. For example, when if children want to climb onto a log and move to the front, staff provide support to move around to find somewhere to begin climbing and then helped to negotiate how to pass others. In this way, children are developing valuable skills to help them progress at all stages of their education.

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who attend

Staff have extensive knowledge of each child and their skills and use this understanding to plan sharply focused next learning stages for children, so that they build on their learning each day. Staff do not miss or overlook learning opportunities; indeed, all areas of the learning are covered in an exceptional way in the outdoor environment. For instance, at the end of snack time in a field on a wet day children ask for challenges. The kind of tasks set for them included naming and explaining similarities and differences in their surroundings, a child being asked to use positional language, and another child asked to read or decode word cards that have been brought along.

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who attend

Staff promote learning through use of senses effectively by encouraging children to feel, touch and smell as appropriate the texture of leaves, suitable fungi, bark and wood. They skilfully extend children's vocabulary by introducing words such as 'evaporate', 'transparent' and 'balance'. This means that language skills are developing within a meaningful context as children gain awareness of the world about them. Staff make effective use of rhymes and rhyming to further assist language development. This results in young children even having the ability to recognise rhyming pairs and older children showing advanced understanding.

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who attend

The children show outstanding ability in their understanding of early mathematics and this is because during the inspection all aspects of this area of learning were covered at different levels for different abilities. For instance, staff asked some children to count between 10 and 20, others were asked to give one more, whilst one child was asked for four more than 15. Staff talked about shapes, fractions using words such as a half and a quarter, capacity and positional language. One member of staff even talked about money substituting leaves for coins and the child was able to complete several simple sums. This kind of teaching, seizing every opportunity to encourage children's development is inspirational.

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who attend

Children have excellent personal, social and emotional skills and are encouraged to develop their independence throughout the day. They routinely serve themselves with water and food at lunch as well as removing multiple layers of outdoor clothing. The children show excellent behaviour and manners during lunch partly due to staff modelling the standards that they expect. A member of staff reminds children of the different ways to use a knife when eating and demonstrates polite positions for the fingers. This precise detail is indicative of the dedication of the staff. Children are always considerate to each other and obey the rules of the kindergarten, even when in the outdoor situation. They show excellent levels of confidence and are very articulate in expressing themselves.

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who attend

With all of the outdoor activity, the children have multiple opportunities to develop their physical skills. They climb, balance and bounce on logs and tree branches with considerable agility and learn to assess the risks involved as a normal part of their development. Staff are always on hand to support and encourage where necessary. In this outdoor environment, children have learned to use their imagination effectively. They imagine all kinds of situation and sustain their play for extensive periods. For example, some children imagine they are on a ferry boat, others use twigs as drills, and a group make cakes from sawdust and wood pieces. This enables them to be imaginative and make up their own story at the end of their snack time, with each child contributing.

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who attend

When the children return indoors, they are equally well focused, in a very short period most settle and practise their writing skills entirely independently. They demonstrate an effective pencil grip and majority can write their name legibly. Some children practise letter formation to move their activity forward and add in extra challenge. Other children enjoy looking at books by themselves but again showing excellent skills. Throughout the inspection, staff remained enthusiastic and highly committed to promoting children's learning.

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

Children are settled, secure and extremely happy in this kindergarten. This is due to the strong, trusting relationships they build with the members of the staff team. The kindergarten staff offers sound settling-in arrangements and support for new children. This means that children are able to separate from parents and carers confidently and establish firm relationships with adults and children in the setting.

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

Children are very self-assured and demonstrate a high level of self-discipline, for example, by playing exceptionally well together whatever the environment. All children show that they are able to wait to take their turn and treat each other with respect by talking politely together. Staff are highly effective in managing children's behaviour especially when outdoors. The children understand the rules and boundaries set for them are linked to their safety and respond by being extremely well behaved. Children confidently work with staff to identify potential hazards in their outdoor environments and consistently assess the safety risk of certain movements during inclement weather conditions. Staff and children are highly effective in ensuring that the children are safe in their outdoor activities. Children often receive recognition and thanks for their kind and thoughtful behaviour.

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

The kindergarten actively works to promote a healthy lifestyle. The time spent outdoors encourages children to be fit and active as seen through the range of movements and agility observed. The staff are meticulous about demonstrating and implementing sound hand-washing procedures to ensure that hygiene standards are maintained, particularly after handling natural items. Children enjoy a healthy snack consisting of water, fruits and rye bread provided by the nursery staff and brought to the field location. The children relax, sit and enjoy their snack unhurriedly despite the rain.

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

Special diets are catered for by using small individual pots. There are discussions about healthy eating and the need to drink water throughout the day. Lunch is healthy and freshly cooked once the children arrive back at the barn, while they are about other activities. The children have opportunity for rest and quiet contemplation after a busy morning before lunch.

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

The children learn and play in a constantly changing environment but they grow accustomed to this and use it effectively to promote their learning and development. The children have the skill to observe things closely and the language skills to describe what they see. When resources are available in the barn children treat them with care and learn how to use them correctly; however, there are fewer to promote children's learning in technology.

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

Partnerships with parents and carers are outstanding. Parents are highly complimentary about the kindergarten and highlight the strong bond that they have with the owner and her staff. Parents appreciate that their staff respect their views. Staff regularly update parents about their children's progress and provide parents with ideas on how to extend this at home. This approach ensures that parents have opportunity to be fully involved in their child's learning and development

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provision

Leadership of this kindergarten is inspirational. The manager/owner has a dynamic vision and high aspirations that are shared by the staff. They are dedicated professionals who are totally committed, enthusiastic and determined to provide children with the best possible learning and development opportunities in an outdoor environment. They are constantly seeking to refine and improve the activities they offer, in order that children enjoy even better teaching and learning. Their understanding of how to deliver this in an outdoor situation is exemplary.

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provision

Staff are fully aware of and committed to the implementation of all safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The safety of children in such physical conditions is of paramount importance to staff and this has been risk assessed in infinite detail with the result that staff convey focused rules to the children. They understand these and obey them ensuring that they remain safe and happy in all situations.

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provision

Staff reflect on their teaching and consistently evaluate children's progress, so that children make outstanding progress. Planning takes full account of individual child's needs. All staff work effectively as a team to address these needs and bring about improvement whatever their environment. The daily activity boards and slide shows available for parents ensure that they know about their children's day, giving them ample opportunity for follow-up and involvement in their child's learning. Development plans that address areas of difficulty are set every few months and staff acted on these quickly. This results in the kindergarten staff constantly updating and reviewing their practice and procedures to bring about the desired improvements for the benefit of the children. The management team are dedicated to excelling in all that they do and strive to achieve this.

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provision

Robust recruitment procedures, including necessary background checks, ensure that all staff are suitable to work with children. New staff undergo a thorough induction programme ensuring they deliver best practice and continuity of care when working outdoors. Practice is consistently assessed and feeds into self-evaluation targets which are monitored and updated very regularly. This process ensures that the desired improvements staff deliver these on timely to bring about even better outcomes for children. A current target is the introduction of further resources for technology to expand and update those currently available.

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provision

Clear lines of communication exist with outside agencies, so staff meet the needs of all children. There are strong links with educational professionals who wish to disseminate the exemplary practice of this setting. The staff also show a strong commitment to liaising with a number of local schools and teachers are invited to come and meet the children to aid such changes. The valuable skills children gain, and their high levels of emotional security allow for the best possible start in their future learning building on from the exceptional learning and development that has taken place in the kindergarten.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY383382 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 829842 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 16 Number of children on roll 25 Name of provider Helena Katarina Nilsson Date of previous inspection 27/03/2009 Telephone number 01962 771458

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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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