Castle Nursery at parkside

Castle Nursery at Parkside BHI Parkside, Stourbridge Road, BROMSGROVE, Worcestershire, B61 0AZ

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/12/2014 06/10/2011

p.1

early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 1 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

p.1

This provision is outstanding

 Teaching is excellent because great care is taken to ensure that learning is exciting and captures children's interests. The expectations of children's achievements are high in all areas of learning and development. Practitioners provide a rich and imaginative educational programme very closely linked to children individual interests and their next steps in learning.  Children's personal, social and emotional development and their language development are given high priority. Skilled practitioners successfully enhance children's speaking and listening skills, and extend their vocabulary very effectively.  Practitioners recognise the uniqueness of each child in their care. The enthusiastic and very caring team ensure children's needs are exceptionally well met. Children successfully develop a strong sense of security, confidence and highly trusting relationships with practitioners.  The provider, manager and practitioner team show a very strong commitment for

p.1

This provision is outstanding

improving outcomes for all children. There are highly successful systems in place to evaluate all aspects of the provision to inform a high level of continuous improvement.  Inclusion is given excellent priority and extremely successful partnerships between parents, carers and other agencies ensure children needs are met exceptionally well.  Excellent priority is given to safeguarding and protecting children. This is very evident through the extremely effective practices that promote children's well-being and safety.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in all playrooms, in the outdoor area and children having their lunchtime meal.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector talked to practitioners and children and held a meeting with the provider and the manager.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including children's records, assessment records and planning documentation.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of practitioners, working with the children, and looked at a range of policies, procedures and risk assessment documents.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector conducted a joint observation of children's activities and interaction between practitioners and children, with the manager.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers, spoken to on the day of the inspection.

p.2

Information about the setting

Castle Nursery at Parkside was registered in 2011 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is one of a small chain of day care settings and out of school clubs owned and run by Castle Nurseries Limited. It operates from purpose built premises in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. There is an enclosed garden available for outdoor play. The nursery serves the local and surrounding areas and is accessible to all children. The nursery employs 12 members of childcare staff. All hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 to 6. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round, from 7.30am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 74 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age range. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

p.3

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

 build on the learning opportunities in the outdoor play space by providing resources to reflect the excellent provision for learning taking place indoors.

p.3

who attend

Children thrive and are well-motivated to learn in this extremely welcoming and child- centred nursery. They are provided with a rich and imaginative educational programme which supports their learning highly effectively. This means that children make excellent progress towards the early learning goals. Children are supported by a highly committed and enthusiastic practitioner team, who provide children with an extensive range of rewarding and exciting play and learning opportunities. This means that children are exceptionally well-prepared for school. The practitioner team have very high expectations of themselves and the children and an in-depth knowledge of how children learn. Teaching techniques across the nursery are excellent and observation, planning and assessment routines are very secure. For example, in all playrooms practitioners are very clear about their aims and objectives in promoting learning and the strong focus they

p.3

who attend

place on using their observations and children's interests to plan the next steps in children's learning. Children's learning and development is recorded in individual learning journey files. Parents can talk to their child's key person about their progress and can also see how observations are being used to plan for their children's next steps in learning. This provides parents with a very accurate overview of their child's progress during their time at nursery and the excellent progress they make. Highly successful strategies engage all parents in their children's learning in the setting and at home. Parents are provided with information about activities taking place and the learning focus for each room. All children are active learners and practitioners are highly skilled in the way they guide and support children's play with their expert teaching techniques. There is a very good balance of child-led and adult-led activities. Practitioners give children time to play,

p.3

who attend

explore the resources available and concentrate on activities of their choice. High priority is given to fostering children's language development and excellent consideration is given to children's individual learning needs. Practitioners use stories, poems, puppets and action songs very effectively to foster children's speaking and listening skills, which develops their love of books. They model language very effectively and engage children in a very purposeful dialogue during play. For example, they ask older children about what they can remember about a story and with younger children they ask simple questions and introduce new words to expand their vocabulary. Older children learn about letters and sounds that make up their name and they enjoy practising their writing skills. This further embeds and enhances their literacy skills, in readiness for school. In the baby room and toddler room practitioners concentrate on three learning areas including

p.4

who attend

children's personal, social and emotional development, their communication skills and physical development. Babies have access to a lovely range of equipment to support their play and learning and they explore their play space with enthusiasm and great confidence. They like to explore sounds by playing with musical instruments, have a go at stacking cups and use their imagination in the home corner play during pretend play. They get very excited when balloons are introduced into their play and they love chasing bubbles. Story time and singing are enjoyed by all children in the nursery. Toddlers sit and concentrate very well during their circle time. They take turns to choose a song from the Song box and listen intently to a Christmas story which is very skilfully read to inspire children's enjoyment. Children like to manipulate and roll out play dough and as they play they spontaneously count, 'one, two and three'. They like to fill and empty tubes using pasta

p.4

who attend

and rice and using their magic writing boards.

p.4

who attend

In the pre-school room children are independent and active learners. Planned activities link very well to children's interests and this involved children in rolling out dough, and using shape cutters to make mince pies. Children talked about cutting their dough in 'half' and looking for the 'circle' and 'star' shape cutters. Children enjoy using a wide range of small world resources to develop their critical thinking skills and imagination, such as the doll's house, garage and cars, puzzles and wooden blocks. Children love their time spent outdoors. They enjoy painting with water, making marks with chalks, using their imagination in the playhouse and balancing on stilts. However, there is room to build on the range of resources and experiences for children playing outdoors to match the high quality learning experiences that take place indoors to further expand their learning in the outdoor play space. All practitioners use mathematical and positional language very

p.4

who attend

effectively and children are encouraged to think about numbers, counting, colour and shape as they play. Story books for younger children introduce size and colour, as practitioners talk to them about the 'big' present and the 'blue' wheels on the car. Peg boards are used to develop children's critical thinking as they consider how they can make a square shape. This fosters children's mathematical and critical thinking skills. All children have extensive opportunities to make marks, recognise and write their own name. They have excellent access to a wide range of resources to promote their expressive art and design skills. All children participate fully in activities and make good use of the excellent range of resources to support all aspects of their learning and development. They make full use of their time and practitioners motivate and engage children in their learning. Children's knowledge and understanding of the world is fostered very successfully through

p.4

who attend

a range of meaningful activities around celebrations. A good range of positive image posters are displayed and children use a range of toys and play figures to further support their understanding of the wider world. This is a delightful nursery that reflects a highly inclusive ethos, where all children are seen as unique individuals. Practitioners know the children very well and make sure that learning and play opportunities reflect each child's interests and play preferences. This helps all children make excellent progress and very effectively supports their smooth transition to the next phase of learning as they move onto nursery or school.

p.5

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

Children are at the heart of what happens in this nursery and their emotional well-being is given priority. Children form extremely secure emotional attachments and caring relationships with all practitioners, and particularly their key person. Excellent attention is given to settling-in children and extensive information is gathered during the admission stage about children's development and daily routines. This successfully helps practitioners to plan for each child when they start at the nursery. Each room within the nursery follows a familiar routine and this helps children feel secure and develop a sense of belonging. For example, in the baby room their morning routine involves children finding their photograph and placing it on a board. They get to know the names of the other children as they say 'hello' to everyone in their room. Friendship songs in other rooms have a similar impact and enhance children's well-being and sense of security. Practitioners are

p.5

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

very sensitive in their approach when children move rooms in the nursery; they help prepare them emotionally with short introductory visits and by developing links with the new key person. This means that the move for children is smooth as each child's individual needs are taken into account. The key-person system works very well. This means that all practitioners gain a very good knowledge of children's interests and skills and this enables them to plan activities tailored to their individual needs.

p.5

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

Partnership working with parents and carers is excellent. The nursery places a great value on ensuring that parents and carers develop a sense of belonging to the setting and have a say in the care and well-being of their children. Parents are provided with a wealth of information, including room newsletters and a range of useful information, which is displayed around the nursery. Parents are provided with opportunities to talk to practitioners at arrival and collection times. They receive excellent feedback about their children's day and this supports true partnership working and continuity in children's learning and development. The nursery has well-established and valuable links with local schools, which means that children are very well supported when they move on to their next stage in learning.

p.5

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

Practitioners place an excellent focus on fostering children's personal, social and emotional development. Children's behaviour is exemplary and practitioners take every opportunity to boost children's self-esteem and confidence with plenty of praise and encouragement. Practitioners provide children with excellent role models because they have a very calm and nurturing approach. Children receive plenty of praise and encouragement and they introduce children to the Golden rules. This helps children learn to be kind and understand about sharing and taking turns. Excellent attention is given to helping children adopt a healthy lifestyle and their health and well-being is promoted very successfully. Children have excellent access to outdoor play which supports their well-being and health effectively. They thoroughly enjoy the time spent outdoors and older children move freely from indoors to the outside area. This also supports children's play preferences and gives

p.5

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

them scope to enhance their physical development. Children who stay for lunch are provided with a nutritious and well-balanced meal, which is provided by an outside caterer. During meal times children's independence is fostered very well and this means they become competent at many tasks, such as clearing their plates away after lunch. Children's safety and safeguarding is central to everything all practitioners do. They effectively support children's growing understanding of how to keep themselves safe. Practitioners are vigilant and have effective procedures in place for supervising sleeping children and they check all play areas to make sure they are safe for children to use. They help children to develop an understanding about how to use space and resources in a safe way. Practitioners involve children when practising the evacuation procedures. Practitioners use an emergency evacuation cot for younger children to ensure a quick and

p.6

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

safe exit from the building to the assembly point.

p.6

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

The manager and practitioner team are experienced, well qualified and totally committed to making sure that the unique needs of each child are clearly identified and met. A purposeful learning environment with high quality accessible indoor resources, effective practitioner deployment and key-person system ensure that children are supported in their learning very well at all times. Fully inclusive practice for all children is further supported by highly effective and close partnerships with other professionals and agencies. Children with additional needs are supported most comprehensively by the knowledgeable and caring practitioner team who liaise closely with parents to ensure children's specific needs are met. While there are currently no children attending who speak English as an additional language there are clear strategies in place to ensure they are supported well. This means that all children are supported very successfully to achieve well.

p.6

provision

The nursery is very well led and effectively managed, with a strong focus on promoting high quality in all aspects of the provision. The provider has an excellent understanding of their responsibility to ensure that the provision meets the safeguarding and welfare, and learning and development requirements. The manager and practitioner team consistently put the child at the centre of everything they do. Safeguarding children is given high priority. Practitioners have an excellent understanding of their responsibility to meet the safeguarding requirements and highly successful arrangements are in place to monitor their implementation. They fully understand and describe their responsibility to escalate any child protection concerns or allegations by following the safeguarding procedures. The manager and practitioner team work very closely with parents, carers and local agencies and other professionals to ensure children's welfare is assured. There are rigorous

p.6

provision

recruitment and vetting procedures in place to ensure the suitability of practitioners working with the children. This is supported by an in-depth induction procedure to ensure the safety and well-being of all children. Practitioners' ongoing suitability is supported through very good arrangements for supervision, appraisals and performance management. Highly effective procedures are in place regarding the programme for professional development, this includes practitioners cascading training information and assessing the impact of training on children's learning. This results in a very knowledgeable practitioner team. All of the regulatory documentation is in place and very effectively organised. This includes a comprehensive range of policies, procedures and well-documented risk assessments which cover all aspects of the nursery and outings. Policy information is shared with parents and carers and this keeps them well-informed

p.7

provision

Partnerships with parents and carers are very strong and highly valued. Parents, spoken to during the inspection, are very pleased with the nursery provision. They talk about how this nursery is 'outstanding' and how it 'stood out' by being so welcoming. Parents particularly like the daily feedback and reports they receive about children's care and learning. They spoke about how well their children progress during their time at nursery, for example, in their speech and language skills, and their mathematical development. Planned evenings for parents further provide them with information about children's progress and their next steps in learning. Practitioners value parents involvement in their children's learning and development and are keen for them to share information about children's interests and achievements at home. Extensive, purposeful and close partnerships with other professionals and agencies in the community are highly effective

p.7

provision

and this successfully promotes children's welfare and learning and supports inclusive practice. Practitioners appreciate the involvement of local agencies in order to promote children's learning further. They talk about wanting to be 'one step ahead' to make sure all children receive the support they need. Partnerships with other providers are fostered very effectively. Local teachers are invited into the nursery to meet children before they start school. Nurseries and schools are also provided with a development summary for each child who is moving to their provision. This helps to fully support children's smooth move to their new setting and continuity in their care and learning.

p.7

provision

The providers and practitioner team are highly motivated and passionate about the service they provide. Team work in the nursery is very strong and they share a clear vision of what they want to achieve, embedding ambition and driving improvement forward in all aspects of their practice. Excellent methods of monitoring and self-evaluation are established including a comprehensive development plan. All plans for improvement are evaluated and the impact and benefits to children reviewed. This ensures the action taken is measured in a purposeful way and continues to promote outcomes for children very effectively. There is a high level of reflective practice which is ongoing with the providers, manager and practitioner team. There is an excellent overview of the educational programmes, the quality of teaching and learning and the progress different groups of children make. This ensure high levels of achievement for all children. Children enjoy

p.7

provision

attending this highly welcoming nursery, where they achieve very well and develop excellent underpinning skills needed for their future success as they move onto school.

p.7

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

p.8

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

p.9

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.

p.9

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.

p.10

Setting details

Unique reference number EY422640 Local authority Worcestershire Inspection number 850119

p.10

Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 46 Number of children on roll 74 Name of provider Castle Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection 06/10/2011 Telephone number 01527 831 150

p.10

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.

p.10

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.11

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,

p.11

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’.

p.12

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.12