St. Michael's School House Nursery

St. Michael's School House Nursery Crowthorne Road, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 7EH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 04/12/2014 30/09/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 Staff follow a key-person approach, which allows them to promote the children's personal, social and emotional well-being. This successfully enables children to have a positive sense of belonging.  Children enjoy the range of play activities and opportunities that the staff provide. This helps them to make good progress overall in all areas of development.  Relationships with parents are strong. Staff are committed to ensuring detailed information is shared regularly, to promote continuity in meeting children's learning and welfare needs.

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It is not yet good because

 Staff do not maintain the daily attendance register accurately. This means that in the event of an emergency, staff may not be fully aware of which children are present.  Staff do not adhere fully to the nursery's hygiene and health policy to protect children's well-being. This is because some toys and resources are not kept clean. In addition, some children eat snacks without washing their hands first, which puts them at risk of infection.

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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 quality of teaching in the playroom and outdoor play area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documentation in relation to safeguarding, risk assessments and daily attendance registers.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's records, planning documentation and children's learning journals, and discussed these with staff.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

St Michael's School House Nursery first opened in 1990 and registered in 1992. It is part of the St Michael's Childcare Trust Limited. It is registered on the Early Years Register, and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery operates from a Victorian house in the grounds of St Michael's School, in Bracknell, Berkshire, with which it has close links. The nursery is open each weekday from 9am until 11.30am and from 12.30pm until 3pm, during school term times. A lunch club is run during school term times only. Children can attend either a variety of sessions or full days. The after school club opens five days a week during school term times and sessions are from 3.15pm until 6.15pm. The holiday club operates each weekday during school holidays and is open between 8.45am until 6.15pm. All children share access to a fully enclosed outdoor area. The provider employs 10 staff. All staff hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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must:

 ensure the daily record of the names of the children being cared for on the premises is accurately maintained, to include details of all children's hours of attendance

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must:

 ensure that staff adhere to the nursery's health and hygiene policy, with particular regard to ensuring toys and flooring are adequately clean, and hygiene procedures with children are consistently maintained.

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who attend

Children enjoy the wide range of toys, activities and play experiences available to them. This helps the children to develop well in relation to their starting points and achieve above the expected levels of development for their ages, in most areas of learning. Staff offer consistent support to the children and skillfully promote their development through well-planned, purposeful groups times and activities. Children enjoy activities which challenge their learning. These help them to explore and feel confident to have a go at new experiences. For example, children's imaginations are well enhanced as they make patterns with paint, explore textures and mix colours. This supports their sensory skills and creativity.

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who attend

Children interact well with each other and are beginning to build firm friendships with each other. For example, they share cars for the garage and play team games in the garden. Children's physical development and communication are very well supported, as they actively join in with music and movement sessions, which they sing along to, and follow actions energetically. Staff promote children's communication and language very well as they consistently communicate to the children, read stories and play games, such as Mrs Brown's bag. This game encourages the children to think and link noises to guess what is in the bag, prior to this being shown to them. Children's mathematical development is promoted well as the staff use numbers in everyday activities and as part of their routine. For example, children line up against numbers on display before heading downstairs. Children learn about colour, shape and measure as they play with construction

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who attend

resources, and explore with water, sand, chalks and colouring pens. Children of all ages independently use programmable toys and processor equipment. This aids their development successfully as they use interactive technology for a particular purpose. Children are developing good early writing skills as they freely access appropriate resources in the rooms and garden. Staff encourage children to write their names and teach them how to form the first letter of their names. These activities effectively help to prepare them for school.

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who attend

The staff keep planning documents and regularly complete progress records for children. These are used securely to identify children's next stages in learning. Parents and other professionals involved in children's care are suitability involved in contributing to the children's progress records, to promote ongoing achievements for each child.

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

Children are happy and confident at the nursery. They are welcomed warmly by staff and settle suitably as they arrive. The key-person system is understood by staff and works well with the children to build relationships. As a result, this has a positive impact on promoting children's learning and emotional development. Children enjoy freedom to play and explore the environment, and have free access to the outside play area. This allows them to engage in physical activities, such as football with staff, which develops their coordination skills.

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

The nursery environment has undergone some improvements since the last inspection, such as modification to the toilets and decoration. This has created a bright welcoming environment for the children. However, children's health is not promoted fully, because staff fail to follow the nursery's policies and procedures robustly. For example, some of the flooring and toys used for children are unclean, which does not fully promote children's health and well-being. In addition, not all children are encouraged to wash their hands prior to eating snacks and they share bowls of fruit, such as raisins. This puts the children at further risk of cross infection. Despite this, children are developing a suitable understanding of healthy eating. For example, staff encourage the children to eat their sandwiches first at lunch club and children enjoy fresh fruit at snack times.

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

Children behave well throughout the nursery. They clearly enjoy each other's company and include each other in their creative activities, for example, when building a snowman from arts and craft materials. Children benefit from the warm praise and encouragement they receive from staff. This enhances the children's self-esteem and emotional development well. Children are beginning to learn about their own safety. For example, staff used group time, to talk about a toy fire engine brought in by a child from home for a show and tell activity. They use opportunities such as these to discuss and extend children's knowledge of people who help us. In addition, the children practise the evacuation procedure and learn the nursery rules, such as no running inside, well. Children acquire suitable independence skills, as they fasten their coats for outside play and staff encourage children to see to their own self-care skills. This supports their self-

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

sufficiency skills well and prepares them soundly for school.

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provision

The manager and staff team work well together and generally have a suitable understanding of their responsibilities to meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, the leadership team is not fully meeting all areas of the framework, which has resulted in breaches of regulation. For example, the staff do not maintain accurate daily attendance registers to show when children are on the premises. This does not safeguard children, for example, in an emergency as staff may not have a clear understanding of who is present at the time. Despite this, the hours are recorded when the children attend the after-school and holiday club part of the provision and, therefore, the provider meets the associated requirement of the Childcare Register.

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provision

Staff demonstrate a strong awareness of how to safeguard children. They fully acknowledge their roles and responsibilities to protect children, and understand the procedures to follow should they have a concern about a child in their care, or the practice of another member of staff. Detailed risk assessments are completed regularly, covering all areas of the building and garden area, to help to maintain a safe environment for children. Recruitment procedures are robust. References and checks are sought prior to employment to help to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. In addition, systems are in place to induct, monitor and reflect on staff practice. This ensures that the staff have appropriate support to sustain and promote their knowledge and understanding of how to teach and care for the children.

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provision

The manager and staff use effective systems to reflect on the provision they offer to children. For example, they have regular in-house staff meetings, and use the Ofsted online evaluation form to identify the strengths and weaknesses in the provision. Parents inform the processes to evaluate the success of nursery practice, through leavers' questionnaires, and a comments and suggestions folder. This helps the leadership team to reflect on information and determine future priorities for improvement.

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provision

Strong partnerships with parents are in place. Staff share children's records of observations and attend support meetings about their child. This helps them to keep informed about their child's welfare and learning. The provider has special educational needs coordinators in place who ensure that children with additional needs receive appropriate help. Staff are building working relationships with outside agencies to aid children's overall developmental progress and to promote continuity of care.

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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 119299 Local authority Bracknell Forest Inspection number 836052 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 150 Name of provider St. Michael's School, Easthampstead, Childcare Trust Date of previous inspection 30/09/2009 Telephone number 01344 869340

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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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