Pixels Nursery

Rhymes Nursery Rhymes Nursery, 2 Hawker Drive, Martlesham Heath, IPSWICH, Suffolk, IP5 3RQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/12/2014 08/07/2014

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 4 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

 Children are provided with a an appropriately-balanced programme of activities. Staff generally support children's learning well, following their interests and encouraging them to reach the next stage in their learning.  The manager and staff have a good awareness of child protection issues. They know how to report concerns, in order to safeguard the children in their care.  Children form caring bonds with their key person, staff and each other. As a result, they demonstrate they are happy and confident in their surroundings.

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It is not yet good because

 Staffs' assessments of children are not always robust or consistent enough to identify gaps in children's learning where they need extra support to make good progress.  Staff in the baby room do not always provide a language-rich environment for children to support their early communication and language development.  Staff are not always deployed effectively in the morning times, to enable those children who find it more difficult to separate from their parents to do so with confidence.  Staff do not regularly share information between other early years settings and schools to provide consistency for children in their learning and 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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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the pre-school room, baby room, garden and had a tour of the nursery.  The inspector held a meeting and carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector held conversations with staff, children and parents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with staff about children's progress and achievements and viewed children's development records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector saw evidence of Disclosure and Barring Service checks and qualifications of staff, self-evaluation, risk assessments, policies and procedures and other documentation in relation to health and safety checks.

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Information about the setting

Rhymes Nursery was registered in 1993 on the Early Years Register. It is situated in converted premises in the Martlesham Heath area of Suffolk, and is one of two nurseries owned and managed by Little Joe Ltd. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from four main rooms and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery employs 11 members of childcare staff. Of these, 10 hold appropriate early years qualifications from level 2 to level 6, including one with Early Years Professional Status and two members of staff are working towards higher qualifications. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 65 children on roll who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a small number of children who speak English as an

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Information about the setting

additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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must:

 ensure that ongoing assessment is consistently used to assess children's stage of development accurately and identify children that need extra support in their learning in order to make good progress

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must:

 ensure that staff in the baby room always provide a language-rich environment so the children have good opportunities to develop their early communication and language skills.

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

 review the organisation of the deployment of staff in the mornings so that children, who find it more difficult to separate from their parents, are able to leave their parents with confidence

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

 strengthen partnerships with other early years settings and schools by regularly sharing information about children's learning and development to provide consistency and ensure that children's need are well met through these partnerships.

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who attend

Staff generally know how to support children in their learning. They provide an environment that incorporates a range of activities that cover the seven areas of learning. However, the quality of teaching is variable, meaning that not all children make good progress in their learning and development. Staff in the baby room do not consistently promote children's communication and language skills to a good standard. For example, they do not always get down to the children's level and mimic their babbles, or provide a language-rich environment to encourage them to learn important skills for their development. Staff obtain information from parents on entry about children's likes, dislikes and what they can do and they use these, along with their own observations, to form a basic initial assessment of children's capabilities. Staff routinely observe children in their play. However, this information is not used consistently to produce accurate assessments

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who attend

of the children's learning and development. As a result, not all children are appropriately challenged in their learning. Consequently, they do not all make good progress.

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who attend

Children generally have the basic skills they need for the next stage in their learning, including the move to primary school. Staff encourage children to develop their mathematical skills. For example, during a group circle time, they encourage children to count the current-bun puppets. Staff ask them open-ended questions to support them to work out simple adding and subtracting, such as 'If you take that bun away, how many will we have left?' Children, overall, are engaged in activities and respond to the staff's questions positively. Children develop their physical and cooperation skills. They take part in building a balancing beam out of small blocks and help each other to line them up and hold each other's hands as they balance on one leg. Since the last inspection, the staff have developed the literacy area. Children now have more opportunities to freely access writing equipment and staff support them to recognise and sound out alphabet letters and

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who attend

words. For example, children's names are written on their dinner placemats and staff actively encourage children to find their own name.

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who attend

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are happy and settle well. Staff implement individual educational plans for these children, which they review regularly to ensure that children's needs are being supported and met appropriately. Children who speak English as an additional language are appropriately provided for. Staff obtain information from parents about children's home language, including words to use during their play to help them integrate into the setting and to learn a good standard of English. The staff have formed trusting relationships with parents. They hold termly key-person meetings where they share information about the children's learning and development. Parents are encouraged to contribute their own observations about what they know their children are learning at home.

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

Children form caring bonds with their key person, staff and each other. Staff provide a safe, welcoming and adequately resourced environment with accessible resources for children. However, staff are not always deployed appropriately in the early mornings. For example, parents are arriving with their children, staff are setting up the room and the children are walking between the main room and the hallway. As a result, children that need extra support to separate from their parents in the morning are not always provided with the best conditions to do so with confidence. Staff obtain information from parents on entry about children's care needs, likes and dislikes. They then use this to provide an environment that children feel comfortable in and help them to settle. In addition, staff provide settling-in sessions for the children. As a result, they experience a smooth transition from their home to nursery. Children visit the school in preparation for the move

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

and staff talk to children about what to expect from the school environment. As a result, children are generally prepared emotionally for the move to Reception, when they start school.

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

Staff provide opportunities for children to understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle. They provide children with healthy snacks, home-made meals and drinks, such as, lasagne, salad vegetables, fruit and water. Children are given opportunities to take part in regular physical exercise. They climb on the play equipment outside and ride bicycles. Children have daily access to fresh air as the staff operate a free-flow play environment, where children can move from outside to inside as they choose throughout the day. Staff provide children with a range of opportunities to be independent. Children help to lay the table for lunch, access the toilet and dress themselves. Children develop a sense of pride and achievement as staff regularly praise them and display their artwork around the room for people to see.

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

Staff generally support children to learn what acceptable behaviour is. Children learn to play together and staff encourage children to develop their social skills and share toys and resources. Staff have created behaviour plans for those children who need extra support in managing their own behaviour. These plans are shared with staff to ensure that they know the appropriate strategies to adopt when closely supporting the children. Children regularly taken part in emergency evacuation procedures so they learn how to keep themselves safe in an emergency.

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provision

The manager has a clear understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements and implements them well into the nursery. Staff can identify the signs and symptoms of abuse and know the appropriate action to take if they have concerns about a child. Staff have all documentation in place that supports children's safety. For example, visitors are asked to sign in and out, and registers for children are completed by parents and double- checked by staff. In addition, closed circuit television is in place so staff can see who is at the door before they open it. All staff have Disclosure and Barring Service checks in place, as well as additional suitability checks, reassuring parents of their children's welfare. A large percentage of staff have current paediatric first-aid certificates so they are able to attend to minor accidents and injuries.

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provision

Following the last inspection, Ofsted issued a notice of action to improve and carried out a subsequent monitoring visit. The manager has taken appropriate action to address the concerns that were raised. Staff now arrive earlier to check the premises fully before children arrive. They then check the environment in the middle of the day and at the end of the session to ensure that they are vigilant in reducing hazards in the environment. Staff now use the quiet room daily, for small group activities and as a place for children to use if they would like some quiet time. Staff are deployed appropriately in these rooms to ensure that children are kept safe. The manager has now implemented regular supervisions with staff. These are used to support them in their practice and identify any areas they feel they need extra support or further training with. Staff comment that this has been a significant improvement and they are already booked onto training that they

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provision

would like to attend to improve their knowledge and skills. Staff have adapted their planning to incorporate the individual needs of children that attend. They also identify adult-led and child-initiated activities they wish to complete with children and what areas of learning they intend to cover. However, this still requires some improvement as assessments of children are not always accurate or completed in a timely way to ensure that activities suitably challenge all children in their learning and development.

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provision

The manager's self-evaluation provides a broad overview of the nursery's strengths and weaknesses and includes the views of parents, children, staff and other professionals. The manager aspires to improve and has already implemented strategies to develop the quality of care the nursery provide. She also recognises the steps that need to be taken to improve it even further. The manager oversees the educational programmes to ensure that they cover the seven areas of learning and provide a range of experiences for the children. Her monitoring of staff's assessments of children provides a broad overview of the children's achievements. However, it is not thorough enough to ensure that assessments are completed in a timely way, in order to identify children who may need extra support to make good progress in their learning and development. Staff have formed positive partnerships with parents and encourage them to contribute to children's learning

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provision

and development. Parents comment that they feel able to approach staff with any worries or concerns they may have. Their views on the nursery are obtained verbally and through questionnaires. Staff have formed partnerships with some schools and early years settings. However, they do not consistently share information to support children's ongoing learning, to enable them to achieve the best possible progress they can.

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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 EY303072 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 986987

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 44 Number of children on roll 65 Name of provider Little Joe Ltd Date of previous inspection 08/07/2014 Telephone number 01473 611881

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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

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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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