Harpers Nursery school

Harpers Nursery school Harpers Farm, Summerhill, Goudhurst, Cranbrook, Kent, TN17 1JU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/11/2014 17/03/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Staff engage well with parents. They work successfully in partnership to promote children's individual needs and actively involve parents in their children's learning.  Staff maintain a safe and secure play environment. They have a clear understanding of their responsibility to safeguard children's welfare and children are well looked after.  Staff have high expectations for children's learning and use their teaching skills well to encourage children to become confident, independent, and competent learners.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Children do not all have frequent access to outdoor play throughout the day.  High quality supervision is not embedded in practice to ensure all staff have a targeted programme for professional development.

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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 indoors and outdoors.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager of the provision at circle time.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with staff, parents, children and the manager at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector tracked the activities and progress of three children of differing gender, age and ability.

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Information about the setting

Harpers Nursery School has been registered since August 1996 and is privately owned and managed. It operates from a self-contained unit of two rooms at the owner's home at Harpers Farm in Summerhill, near Goudhurst, Kent. There is access to a fully enclosed outside play area. The group serves the local and surrounding area. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is open Monday to Thursday from 9am to 3.30pm during term time. On Fridays it is open from 9am to 1pm during Autumn and Spring term, and then extended to 3.30pm during the summer term. Children attend on a sessional or extended day basis. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who are learning English as an additional language. The nursery employs a team of seven staff, including the manager; of these, six hold an appropriate early years

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Information about the setting

qualification. The group receives support from the local authority.

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

 review the use of the outdoor environment to improve the frequency of access for all children

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

 strengthen staff supervision and appraisal to include targeted plans for continual professional development.

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who attend

The organisation of the children's play environment inside is well planned so it is welcoming and helps to successfully motivate children in their play and learning. It is full of fun activities and children are encouraged to explore and investigate their surroundings. The quality of teaching is strong. Staff engage children's attention and develop their learning, ready for school. For example, children were taught initial sounds in words, and learnt to listen and be patient during a sound matching game. This activity generated a lot of conversation that promoted children's communication and language skills, helping to prepare them for the next stage in their learning and school. Children demonstrated their developing social skills as they watched and waited for their peers to turn cards in a calm, good natured manner. Staff give children learning English as an additional language good support to develop confidence in using their home language and English.

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who attend

Staff complete initial observations of children's development in the first few weeks of their attendance. Staff use information gathered to assess where children are in their learning and then plan a broad range of activities that build on their individual abilities and interests. Ongoing observations help staff to identify the next steps for individual learning, including any gaps where children require extra support to help them to make further progress. As a result, children make good progress towards the early learning goals and are developing the skills that will help them in the future. Parents also contribute to children's achievements. For example, staff share learning aims with parents termly. For example, one parent described how staff worked with them to help their child to recognise and name different colours. The parent said that naming the colours of their clothes as they get dressed has become part of their daily routine.

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who attend

The outdoor area has the potential to offer children a fun, dynamic learning experience. The newly built ramps outdoors and external door in the top classroom enable children with disabilities full access to the indoor and outdoor environments. Outdoors offers varied surroundings, including an all-weather area with shelter that children's can use all-year- round, whatever the weather. A grassed area offers space for large physical development and resources, such as a mini-beast world promote learning about the natural world. Staff use a planting area to teach children about the benefits of healthy eating, enabling children to grow their own fruit and vegetables. However, not all children receive the same opportunities to explore all outdoor environments throughout the day.

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

Staff know their key children well and encourage their independence. Children are motivated to take part in activities and show they feel secure because of the support they get from the staff who are friendly and soft natured. Staff promote children's emotional welfare by building strong relationships with their key children and put a strong focus on building children's personal, social and emotional skills. This enables children to feel self- assured and confident. Children are confident to talk about their time at nursery and other outside pursuits. For example, children said they like to paint and enjoy horse riding and swimming.

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

Positive relationships are formed with parents. Staff provide information daily about all aspects of their child's care and development. This is achieved by means of an information whiteboard updated daily with activities the children take part in, informal daily discussions, as well as individual day books provided by the setting. Staff work effectively with parents to help children to settle and at times of change, such as preparing children to move on to school.

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

Staff support parents with concerns regarding their children's development giving parents a warm feeling of being valued and understood. Parents praise staff for their professionalism. They feel their children are safe and secure in the capable hands of staff who support and progress children's development in all areas of learning. Children's health needs are also supported by the good parent partnership. The staff recommend healthy snacks to parents and inspire children to eat more by growing their own fruit and vegetables. The setting provides the choice of milk or water, which children pour with growing independence.

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

Children behave well because of the staff's ethos of mutual respect, consideration and kindness that they model. These principles are regularly encouraged at chat times, snack time and lunch time. Children are also encouraged to take turns and share, teaching awareness of the needs of others. Children understand routines and learn to tidy up encouraging a sense of pride while teaching them to help maintain a safe play environment.

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provision

The safety and welfare of all children is given high priority. All staff have received safeguarding training. They know what to do if there are concerns about a child in order to protect them. Staff deployment is good and serves to provide vigilant supervision of the children. The team includes four staff who are first-aid trained which means if there is an emergency indoors or outdoors, it can be dealt with quickly. Staff have a good knowledge of child development. They know how children learn and how to identify any developmental delay at an early stage, enabling early intervention. The named special educational needs coordinator works closely with staff and a multitude of agencies to provide additional support for children who need it, for example, speech and language therapists. Staff work closely with outside professionals and parents to implement individual education plans to move children on in their learning. Parents comment that

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provision

they feel supported and that their children are treated equally. Management also attend a local collaboration of early years professionals to share ideas, knowledge and practice.

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provision

The staff team work well together and communication verbally is good. Staff feel they can approach the manager for training and the manager says they give additional staff support as needed. Staff have been made aware of ways they can continue in their professional development using online programmes. However, high quality supervision is implemented to ensure all staff have a targeted programme for professional development.

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provision

The owner/management demonstrates a strong commitment to ongoing improvement. They reflect on practice and examine the environment to identify areas to develop. The manager attends training courses and meetings to enhance practice, for example, a conference relating to provision for two-year-olds. They also liaise with the local authority to seek ways to improve. All staff are involved in evaluating the setting's practice at staff meetings and through informal discussions. Parents' ideas are also sought by means of questionnaires. Evaluations by staff and parents are implemented into the setting's development plan, reflecting aspirations to further improve outcomes for children.

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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 127225 Local authority Kent Inspection number 840630 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 48 Name of provider Claire Jane Wickham Date of previous inspection 17/03/2010 Telephone number 01580 212852

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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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