Little Leaders Childcare

Little Leaders Childcare Oak Hall, Woodville Road, IPSWICH, IP4 1PD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 13/01/2015 01/02/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 3 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 3

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This provision requires improvement

 Children are happy and form strong attachments to staff who are caring and sensitive to their individual needs. Staff use consistent strategies to help children to learn to share and take turns, as a result they learn the expected boundaries of appropriate behaviour.  Staff join in with children's play and generally provide a suitable range of interesting activities to encourage them to play together well while sharing their ideas and experiences.  Management and staff have a good understanding of their responsibilities and the procedures to follow to protect the children in their care. As a result, children are safe and well cared for in the nursery.  Staff make good use pictures and simple sign language to help children to develop their communication skills. As a result, children widen their vocabulary and their use of spoken English.

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It is not yet good because

 Systems of monitoring children's progress are not accurate enough to enable staff to effectively plan activities that provide all children with good levels of challenge to promote their enthusiasm and engagement.  Staff do not always provide children with sufficient time to consider their responses to questions to extend their thinking skills.

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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 compulsory part 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 in the indoor and outdoor environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager and spoke to staff and children at appropriate times during the course of the inspection.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's records, planning and assessment documentation, evidence of suitability of staff working in the nursery and a range of other documentation, including policies and procedures.

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Information about the setting

Little Leaders Childcare was registered in 2011 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a refurbished hall in east Ipswich, Suffolk. It is one of two nurseries, which are privately managed by the same provider. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from one main hall with a smaller room for the youngest children. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery employs six members of childcare staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications from level 2 to 5. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday during term time only. Sessions are from 8.30am until 3.30pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 27 children attending 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 number of children who speak English as

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Information about the setting

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

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must:

 ensure observation and assessment systems accurately monitor each child's progress and their next steps in learning are precisely planned for to provide individual children with good levels of challenge to promote their enthusiasm for learning.

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

 improve systems of monitoring staff practice to help staff to develop their questioning skills, so that children have greater opportunity to consider their own solutions to simple problems.

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who attend

Children are generally happy and enjoy their time at the nursery. Staff understand how to promote young children's learning and development. They join in with children's play to encourage their enjoyment and participation. Staff make regular observations of children's play to assess their skills and understanding. However, this information is not used consistently to accurately monitor children's development and plan activities that provide good levels of challenge. As a result, children do not always make good progress given their starting point and capabilities. Staff provide children with a broad range of activities that cover each of the areas of learning and development. They give children sensitive support and encouragement to help them to become familiar with the routines of the nursery. Children often choose to spend the greater part of their time playing outdoors. Here, they are active and enthusiastic in their play as they follow their own interests and

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who attend

share their ideas with others. For example, children confidently act out roles and sing songs from their favourite film. Children enjoy using brushes and small pots of water to paint on the wall. Staff encourage them to attempt to form letters and describe what they are painting. However, on occasion, indoor activities are mundane and do not provide all children with good levels of challenge. For example, sometimes older children's play lacks purpose and their current interests are not well reflected in the everyday provision, such as the role-play area.

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who attend

Staff prioritise their teaching on supporting children's communication and language skills by successfully implementing initiatives, such as the 'Every Child a Talker' programme. They make good use of pictures and simple sign language to enable children to communicate their needs, request other toys and learn new words. As a result, all children, including those who speak English as an additional language, are developing their vocabulary and use of spoken English. This ensures that they are developing the skills they need for school or their next stage of learning. Staff provide children with an appropriate balance of adult-led and child-initiated learning experiences. However, whole group activities do not always capture children's interest and sometimes older children prefer to look at a book on their own, rather than take part in such activities. Staff show interest and enjoyment in children's play. They provide good levels of praise, such as

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who attend

when children draw a picture, staff ask them about what they have drawn. However, sometimes staff do not make the most of opportunities to extend children's learning as they do not allow them time to consider their responses to questions but instead provide the answer for them.

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who attend

Key persons gather information from parents about children's prior experiences on entry. They compile learning journals, which include photographs, supported by observations of children's play and termly reports on their achievements. Key persons have started to share learning journals with parents, so they can discuss children's progress and identify their future learning needs. They also provide parents with ideas of how they can support their children's learning at home. Key persons complete the progress for children aged between two and three years. This provides a summary of children's abilities within the prime areas of learning. However, these do not always provide an accurate assessment of children's current abilities from which to monitor their progress.

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

Children form strong attachments to their key persons who are caring and sensitive to their individual needs. Children who are new to the nursery, soon settle as staff provide good levels of comfort and reassurance. As a result, young children develop their confidence and explore their new environment, knowing that a trusted adult is nearby if needed. Staff are well deployed to enable children to move around the nursery in comfort and safety. The youngest children particularly benefit from the high adult-to-child ratios, which give staff time to provide them with good levels of individual attention. As a result, children develop high self-esteem and they are emotionally secure. Staff welcome children and parents into the nursery. They chat to parents each day about what the children have been doing and share relevant information about their changing needs. A newly introduced daily diary for the youngest children aims to improve the two-way flow of

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

information to further support their well-being.

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

Staff ensure the layout of the indoor and outdoor environments, provides children with space to develop their physical skills in safety. Outdoors, children enjoy playing active games and copying each other as they climb the slide. Staff praise children for waiting their turn and explain how to climb the slide safety. They use consistent strategies to help children to learn to share and take turns using visual clues, such as egg timers. As a result, children learn the boundaries of expected behaviour. Children are learning to value their own cultures and those of others. For example, staff plan activities, which relate to events and festivals celebrated by families using the nursery. They encourage families to share information and photographs about their own cultures, so that children learn about people's differences and similarities. Staff place importance on helping children to develop independence during snack time. They praise children for following good hygiene routines,

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

such as remembering to wash their hands before sitting down to eat. Child-height toilets and wash basins featuring a motion-sensor tap enable children to take age-appropriate responsibility for their own personal care.

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provision

The management and staff have a good understanding of their individual roles and responsibilities to protect children. Their practice is supported by detailed safeguarding policies containing up-to-date details of the procedures to follow if they are concerned about a child's welfare or the behaviour of a member of staff. The premises are safe and secure and staff are rigorous about checking that children are only collected by authorised people. Suitable recruitment procedures are followed to ensure staff and volunteers undergo appropriate checks to ensure their suitability to work with children.

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provision

Management encourage staff to improve their qualification levels to increase their knowledge and practice. As a result, staff and management share the same drive to improve the nursery. Staff also attend regulatory training as required, such as first aid, food hygiene and child protection. The manager carries out regular supervisions to improve staff practice and identify further training needs. Since the last inspection, staff have attended a number of workshops to increase their skills, such as supporting children who speak English as an additional language and working with under two-year-olds. Staff work closely with other professionals to provide children with special educational needs and/or disabilities with good levels of consistent support. Detailed individual educational plans and effective systems of monitoring their progress ensure these groups of children receive well-targeted support to close identified gaps in their learning. The manager

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provision

monitors the quality of staff assessments. However, this has not identified some inaccuracies in children's assessment records. In addition, the manager has not implemented an effective system of monitoring the progress of individual children to ensure planning precisely targets their next steps in development to promote their good progress.

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provision

The nursery has taken appropriate action to address the recommendations from the previous inspection. For example, they have developed more effective ways of involving parents in their children's learning. Also, better relationships are in place with local schools to support children's move to full-time education when the time comes. Parents praise the nursery and comment that their children love coming and they can see the progress, which they have made while attending. The manager is developing systems of self- evaluation to identify priorities for development to improve children's learning experiences. Building work is due to start soon to replace the toilet block and at the same time, build a designated baby room, so the nursery can better provide for the needs of the youngest children attending.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY433050 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 870461

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 25 Number of children on roll 27 Name of provider Little Leaders Childcare Limited Date of previous inspection 01/02/2012 Telephone number 01394460401

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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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