Puddles Nursery

Puddles Nursery Hesters Way Community Resource Centre, Cassin Drive, Princess Elizabeth Way, CHELTENHAM, Gloucestershire, GL51 7SU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 3 March 2015 9 August 2011

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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

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This inspection: Good 2

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

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This inspection: Good 2

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

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This inspection: Good 2

The setting meets legal requirements for early years settings

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This provision is good

 All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or who speak English as an additional language, make good progress relative to their starting points. This is because staff have good quality teaching skills and competently observe, plan and effectively assess children's learning and development.  Children are confident learners as a result of the vibrant environment and stimulating activities.  Staff and management share and follow policies and procedures effectively to maintain a safe and welcoming environment for all children.  Children behave well as staff are good role models and provide clear boundaries.  The manager and staff establish effective partnerships with parents and other professionals involved in children's care and support to help meet children's needs and ensure there is good continuity for their learning.  The management team and staff demonstrate a strong commitment to maintaining

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This provision is good

high standards and driving further improvement. Staff have attended training that has had a positive impact on children's learning, such as providing more opportunities for two-year-olds to develop their communication skills.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 During some whole group activities and daily routines, some children occasionally wait too long and lose enthusiasm and attention.  The management team does not check effectively the progress of groups of children who share similar characteristics, such as the same age, gender or background.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 review activities and routines to minimise waiting times for children to maximise their engagement and learning  extend checking of children's progress to cover that made by groups of children so that planned improvements precisely impact on children making rapid progress.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children's play, activities and staff interaction with children in the playrooms, rest area and outside areas.  The inspector held discussions with the nursery manager, staff and children.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector reviewed paperwork including children's records, samples of their work, policies, risk assessments and suitability checks on staff.

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who attend. This is good

Staff provide children with a broad range of activities to suit their individual interests and stages of development. Consequently, learning is fun and children explore and investigate enthusiastically. Staff have high aspirations for all the children and ask some good questions to support their thinking skills. Children who learn English as an additional language develop their communication skills as staff use some sign language, words in children's home language and picture recognition books. Staff provide targeted activities for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to quickly close gaps in their learning. Staff encourage children to involve each other in their play and intervene sensitively. Consequently, toddlers and two-year-old children develop their social skills and learn to organise their ideas through their talk. For example, children learn questions they could ask their friends as they pretend to be a shop assistant. Staff skilfully use adult-led

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who attend. This is good

small group activities to ensure older children acquire the skills needed for school. For example, children learnt about shapes as they compared them and consolidated this knowledge by identifying them as familiar objects in the environment.

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good

Staff establish strong relationships with the parents and the children from the outset. Consequently, staff know children very well and children form close attachments, settle well and are confident to seek support when required. Staff encourage even the youngest children to develop independence skills in preparation for the next stage in their care. For example, children serve themselves food, help to dress themselves, and older children use the toilet independently. Staff provide a well organised learning environment which is easily accessible. However, sometimes children's time is wasted because they have to wait too long during daily routines and whole group activities. This does not fully support their learning or their independent choices. For example, older children became restless as they waited to hold a shared toy and younger children waited too long to play outside.

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provision is good

Ongoing staff meetings and supervision sessions identify the individual strengths and weaknesses of staff teaching skills. The majority of staff hold high level qualifications, which means they know how children learn and so teaching is good. The managers keep a close check on the progress of individual children and provide extra support for those with identified needs to close gaps. However, management has not extended the checking system to help them compare the progress trends of groups of children, such as boys' literacy. This means that improvements are not so precisely targeted to ensure that all children fulfil their potential and make rapid progress. Staff help parents support their children's progress through individual key person sessions.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY343475 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 986626 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 31 Number of children on roll 88 Name of provider Desirable Childcare Ltd Date of previous inspection 9 August 2011 Telephone number 01242 527545

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Setting details

Puddles Nursery registered with Ofsted in 2007 and is one of two nurseries owned by Desirable Childcare Limited. It operates from a purpose built building based within the Hesters Way Community Resource Centre, in the Hesters Way area of Cheltenham. It is open each weekday from 8am until 6pm for 50 weeks of the year. The nursery employs 11 staff, including the manager, to work directly with the children. Of these, ten hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and above. One staff member has gained Early Years Teacher Status.

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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.

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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.

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Setting details

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Setting details

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

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