Willow Nursery and Pre-School

Willow Nursery and Pre- School Charlton Road, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 5PG

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 13 February 2015 8 July 2009

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Good 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend Good 2

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children Good 2

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision Good 2

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

The setting meets legal requirements for early years settings

p.1

This provision is good

 The quality of teaching across the pre-school and nursery is good. Staff plan a range of interesting and exciting activities. As a result, all children, including those whose home language is not English, make good progress in all areas of their learning and development.  The management and staff use self-evaluation to identify their strengths and areas for development. This means that they are able to make focused plans for improvement.  Staff provide a safe and secure environment, so that the children can explore freely. They have a good understanding of child protection issues and safeguarding is given the highest priority.  Staff work well in partnership with parents, professionals and other early years providers. Communication is good and contributes to the meeting of children's needs.  The commitment of staff to training and professional development has a positive impact on children's learning. Staff use their knowledge to teach children new skills which they

p.1

This provision is good

need for their future learning and starting school.  Staff use their good interaction and communication with children to successfully engage children and extend their learning.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because:

 Children in the pre-school room are not always able to try out their thoughts and ideas during adult-led activities.  The organisation of lunchtime in the nursery room means that children wait for long periods for their lunch and become unsettled.

p.1

What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

p.2

What the setting needs to do to improve further

 extend opportunities for children in the pre-school room to try out their thoughts and ideas in adult-led activities  develop the organisation of mealtimes in the nursery room to ensure children are not waiting for long periods of time and become unsettled.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the pre-school room, nursery room and outside.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector spoke to staff, parents and children.  The inspector sampled a range of documentation including children's records and planning.

p.2

who attend. This is good

The quality of teaching is good. As a result, children make good progress in their learning and development and learn skills. Children have many opportunities to use their imaginations, practise their early writing skills and learn about number, shape and size. Staff engaged children well with props to listen to a favourite story. They skilfully asked useful questions which encouraged children to think and solve problems independently. Children are eager to take part in adult-led activities. However, although, staff ask children for their ideas they are not always given the time to try them. For example, during the inspection children were not given the resources to try out their ideas for decorating a large butterfly. Staff make regular observations of children's play and use these to plan appropriate challenges to extend children's learning. Babies and toddlers enjoy sensory experiences, exploring soil and leaves as they take part in forest school activities. This

p.3

who attend. This is good

sparks their interest in the world around them.

p.3

good

Staff and children share close relationships in a nurturing and warm environment. This supports children's physical and emotional well-being. Staff teach the children about the importance of healthy lifestyles. Pre-school children help prepare the fruit for snack time and engage in discussion with the staff about healthy options. This promotes children's speaking and listening skills well. However, lunchtime in the nursery room is not as well organised. Children who are having a cooked meal wait a long time for it to be served, which leads to some children becoming unsettled and upset.

p.3

provision is good

Management and staff have a good understanding of their responsibilities to keep children safe. They maintain a safe, secure environment and practise the fire drill so that children know what to do in an emergency. There is an effective vetting and induction programme in place. This ensures that only staff who are suitable to do so work with the children. Ongoing supervision and yearly appraisals help the management to identify staff's strengths and weaknesses. Staff are well supported to develop their practice through ongoing training opportunities, which has a positive impact on children's learning and development. For example, staff use sign language with the children, which effectively supports children in their communication skills. There are strong partnerships with parents, professionals and other early years settings. Parents comment positively about their children's good progress since attending the setting. There are good systems for

p.3

provision is good

evaluating what is working well and what needs to improve. This includes reviewing the quality of the activities the children are involved in and their progress.

p.3

Setting details

Unique reference number EY281171 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 837448 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 43 Number of children on roll 76 Name of provider Willow Nursery & Pre-School Ltd Date of previous inspection 8 July 2009 Telephone number 01749 347006

p.4

Setting details

Willow Nursery and Pre-school registered in 2004. The nursery operates from two buildings on the Shepton Mallet Leisure Centre site. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30am until 6pm, all year round. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four. There are 14 staff employed, of whom one is qualified to level 6, two to level 5 and 11 to level 3.

p.4

Setting details

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.4

Setting details

procedures set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. 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, safeguarding and child protection.

p.4

Setting details

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.5

Setting details

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

p.5