Paint Pots Old School House Day Nursery

Paint Pots Old School House Day Nursery 73 School Lane, Hartford, NORTHWICH, Cheshire, CW8 1PF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 04/12/2014 21/06/2011

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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

 Teaching is consistently good and sometimes outstanding. Practitioners sensitively interact with children as they play. They provide suitable and interesting activities. As a result, all children make good progress.  Managers make insightful use of information generated by online learning journals. As a result, the monitoring of children's progress and of the educational programmes is extremely good.  Children learn the importance of a healthy diet and exercise. For example, they grow vegetables, which are included in meals cooked by the nursery chef. Therefore, children learn to make healthy choices.  Partnerships with parents are strong. Practitioners gather information about children from their parents. This leads to continuity in their care and learning.  Practitioners have a strong understanding of how to safeguard children. Consequently, children are kept safe from harm.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Practitioners do not always organise and present resources in ways that fully challenge children and promote their learning at all times. Therefore, children do not always make the very best progress.

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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 toured both buildings and the outside play areas with the manager.  The inspector observed activities in the play rooms and outside area.  The inspector met with the manager and deputy manager.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the deputy manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a range of information and documents, including those used for assessment, planning and observation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and the qualifications of all practitioners working with children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day and in documents that included completed questionnaires.

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Information about the setting

Paint Pots Old School House Day Nursery was registered in 2006 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in Hartford, Cheshire, and is privately owned. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from two buildings. One building caters for the younger children and one for the children aged three years and over. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery employs 27 members of childcare staff who all hold appropriate early years qualifications. 24 staff hold qualifications at level 3, two at level 2 and one holds Qualified Teacher Status. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday all year round, except for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. Sessions are from 8am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 115 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early

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Information about the setting

education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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

 evaluate the learning environment and resources, and present them to fully promote the highest quality of children's learning at all times.

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who attend

Teaching is consistently good and sometimes outstanding. As a result, all children make good progress. All practitioners demonstrate good knowledge and understanding of how young children learn. They interact purposefully with children as they play and learn. For example, in the pre-school room the children play a lotto game about different groups of food. They learn the names of different foods and so make progress in their language development. They learn to calculate as they count how many more items they need to collect to complete their card. They gain understanding of the world as they discuss the location of their nearest fast food restaurant and how to get there. They learn that some foods are healthy and are good for building strong muscles. Throughout the game the practitioner engages individual children, while maintaining a pace that sustains children's interest. As a result, children are keen to participate and they enjoy their learning.

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who attend

Children acquire the key skills they need when they start school. This is because as children grow and move up through the nursery, the practitioners increase what they expect from them. For example, younger children see their name alongside their photograph, displayed above their coat peg. When children move to the pre-school group they learn to find their name without using the picture clue, for example, when they register their attendance at nursery, or visit the snack table. Consequently, children learn that letters and words have meaning and they begin to read. Practitioners know children well and so their assessment of children's progress is accurate. Practitioners make observations of children and use this information to plan next steps in learning for each child. The current next steps are displayed in each room and each key person sets out a weekly plan for their key children. Room teams work together to

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who attend

schedule interesting activities that promote children's learning and achievement, and reflect children's interests. Regular summaries of children's learning are completed. This includes the progress check for children aged between two and three years. Parents are encouraged to share the nursery's progress check with the health visitor, when they take their child for the two year health check. As a result, any concerns about children's progress and development are identified and addressed early.

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who attend

Practitioners work in partnership with parents to ensure continuity in children's learning. Parents contribute to an initial assessment of children's development when they start nursery. As a result, there are starting points for children's learning, so that their progress over time is monitored. The recent introduction of an online learning journal is enhancing communication between parents and practitioners. Parents see photographs and observations of their children as soon as they are uploaded and so can continue the learning at home. For example, when children try to put their own shoes on at nursery, an observation is recorded in the online journal. Parents see the observation, encourage children at home and then send a message back to the key person when children successfully master the new skill. As a result, children's achievement are celebrated by everyone involved and recorded in the learning journal to keep assessments accurate and

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

The key-person system is firmly established and relationships between practitioners and children are good. The atmosphere in the nursery is calm and purposeful. Behaviour is good, because practitioners provide suitable activities and give their full attention to promoting children's learning. For example, when lots of colourful rice is spilt onto the floor by two-year-old children, practitioners use this as a learning opportunity. They trace geometric shapes in the rice and encourage children to copy them. Children find out that it crunches and is difficult to walk on as they explore the substance fully, and so the characteristics of effective learning are promoted through such spontaneous activities.

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

Resources are plentiful. They are largely accessible and are generally used well to support learning. However, sometimes the presentation and organisation of resources does not fully promote children's learning. For example, children who go to play in the role play area in the two-year-old room struggle to find the play resources they want as they are stored chaotically. As a consequence, children's self-initiated play is hindered as the learning environment is not always presented to the best possible level, to fully promote their learning. Children learn to stay safe. For example, they learn that they must fasten their coats because the weather is cold. They learn that washing their hands keeps them safe from germs that make them ill. There is a strong focus on ensuring that children learn to be healthy. A health and fitness programme is delivered by a visiting teacher. Children learn about how their bodies work and how to keep themselves healthy. The food

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

and drink provided is of a high standard. Children sometimes grow vegetables for the chef to use in their meals. As a result, they learn first-hand where the food they eat comes from. Established routines teach children to be independent. For example, at teatime children aged two and three years are supported to take responsibility for giving out the plates and cutlery.

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

When babies start at the nursery a comprehensive care plan is recorded. This ensures that children receive individual and consistent attention guided by information from parents. Transfers between rooms in the nursery are well planned and so there is good continuity of care and learning. Partnerships with schools are effective. School practitioners visit the nursery to observe and discuss the children who will move to their school. Information about children's development and progress is shared. This ensures continuity for children's learning because the starting points for the next stage of their learning are clear. Children are emotionally ready to start school because they develop confidence and high self- esteem at the nursery.

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provision

Leadership provided by managers and the nursery owners is good. The manager and deputy manager are a strong and positive team whose skills, knowledge and experience complement each other very effectively. As a result, practitioners demonstrate purpose and ambition in their work as they feel supported to achieve high standards. The safeguarding and welfare requirements are fully met and the safety of children is given high priority. All practitioners understand what they must do if they are concerned about the welfare of a child in their care. This is because the manager takes practical steps to refresh their knowledge of safeguarding procedures. For example, she uses short quiz sheets at staff meetings to check practitioners' knowledge and understanding and to stimulate discussion. Recruitment procedures are robust. Candidates are interviewed and thorough checks are made on their background and suitability. An induction process

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provision

ensures that children are cared for by practitioners who know and implement policies and procedures that keep children safe. Managers demonstrate good understanding of the timescale for notifying significant incidents to Ofsted.

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provision

Monitoring of children's progress and of the educational programmes is very good. All observations submitted for inclusion in children's online learning journals are checked by a manager before being uploaded and published to parents. Practitioners quickly receive relevant feedback and guidance from managers that continually supports their professional development. In addition, managers check the accuracy of practitioners' assessments of children's progress when they visit and observe practice in the nursery rooms. Managers regularly observe the teaching of individual practitioners as part of supervision arrangements. They record strengths and areas for development and support practitioners to reflect on and improve their teaching. However, there is scope to extend the monitoring processes even further. At present, monitoring does not include an evaluation of the continuous provision and, therefore, the quality of child-initiated play

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provision

within it. Consequently, the nursery does not always identify where changes to the environment are necessary to bring about the highest quality of learning experiences. Information from the online learning journals is used insightfully to identify gaps in the educational programmes. For example, very few observations of children's learning in technology were submitted across the nursery. Managers, therefore, looked more closely at practice to discover the reasons for this and made plans to address this gap in provision. The nursery owners and the managers recognise the importance of continuous professional development and are ambitious for every member of their team. Practitioners regularly attend training and they demonstrate the impact of training on the practice in the nursery. In addition, several practitioners are embarking on further accredited studies. As a result, improvement is rapid and a plan to improve provision even further is

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provision

Partnerships with parents are effective in promoting children's well-being and progress. Managers invite parents to regular progress meetings and communicate with them in a range of ways, including questionnaires, newsletters and the online learning journal. Consequently, parents contribute to the ongoing evaluation of the nursery provision. The nursery's educational programmes include regular outings, both locally and further afield. There are also visiting teachers who come to provide specific sessions, for example, children learn to speak French. This well-developed use of external resources adds richness and depth to the already good provision for children. Partnerships with schools are good and support continuity for children when they move on. Managers demonstrate good understanding of the importance of partnership with other professionals when children's progress and development gives cause for concern.

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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 EY333013 Local authority Cheshire West and Chester Inspection number 862552

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 100 Number of children on roll 115 Name of provider The Old School House Day Nursery (Hartford) Ltd Date of previous inspection 21/06/2011 Telephone number 01606783050

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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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