'Little Thinkers' at New Horizons Portsmouth

Izzies Nursery Isambard Brunel Junior School, Wymering Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO2 7HX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 8 April 2015 11 January 2010

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Previous inspection: Good 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend Requires improvement The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children Requires improvement The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision Requires improvement The setting does not meet legal requirements for early years settings

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This provision requires improvement. It is not yet good because:

 Teaching in the nursery is variable. Staff working with children aged less than two years do not have a clear understanding of what children know and can do. Consequently, they do not always plan activities that challenge children well so they make good progress.  Leaders do not check the range of activities and experiences well enough to make sure that all children have interesting and stimulating learning experiences.  Self-evaluation is not robust enough to help identify the strengths and weaknesses of the nursery's provision to bring about continuous improvements for children.  A number of toys are incomplete, which affects children's learning and enjoyment.

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It has the following strengths

 Leadership and management have a secure understanding of their responsibilities to safeguard children. Staff safeguard children effectively.  Children in the pre-school room make good progress. They enjoy the well-planned activities that promote their communication and language skills particularly effectively.  Strong partnerships with parents and professionals involved in children's care and learning, help staff to meet children's individual needs well, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff support children's emotional development well.  Staff meet children's physical care needs well. Children learn about healthy lifestyles. They follow good hygiene routines and enjoy nutritious home-made food. They spend much of their time outdoors, which helps to maintain their good health.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage the provider must:

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 raise teaching for children aged under two years to a consistently good quality by ensuring that staff regularly and accurately assess children's progress and provide appropriate activities  check that planning of activities and experiences consistently provides interesting, challenging experiences for all children

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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

 ensure that toys and resources are in a good condition, complete and readily available when children need them  improve the evaluation methods and identification of the nursery provision's strengths and weaknesses.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children and staff during play and learning activities, and viewed the play areas and resources.  The inspector undertook two joint observations with the manager.  The inspector had discussions with the manager about the policies and procedures, including how they deal with incidents affecting children's health; how staff work with parents and other early years providers, and self-evaluation methods.  The inspector looked at a sample of children's progress records, planning and tracking systems, and had discussions with staff.  The inspector talked to children and some parents to gain their views of the setting.

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who attend. This requires improvement

Monitoring and tracking of children's progress is inconsistent between the different age groups. While some staff make regular observations of children's play and use these to plan appropriate challenges to extend children's learning, other staff do not. As a result, not all children make good progress. Some children quickly lose interest in activities. Staff looking after the younger ones do not always vary the resources and activities frequently enough to keep children interested while they see to other children's care needs. Children aged two years and over enjoy some group activities. These help them to progress towards the next stage in their learning. Staff place good emphasis on building children's language and investigation skills, which prepares children well for their future learning. For example, children listened to a story about the lifecycle of the butterfly and then looked at real caterpillars. Children have a good understanding of letters and their sounds. They

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who attend. This requires improvement

learn about rhymes, such as when suggesting words that rhyme with their names.

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requires improvement

Staff make the nursery environment safe. They provide a variety of resources in all rooms and in the garden, although a number of these are neither in a good condition nor complete. For example, there are no chalks to use with the chalkboards and no toy people in the doll's house. This affects the development of children's literacy skills and imaginary play. Staff teach children healthy and safe practices. Children develop high levels of independence through the daily routines, including snack time. Staff use effective and consistent strategies to help children learn how to manage their feelings and to behave well. Staff have a good knowledge of each child, their home backgrounds and their specific needs. Children get to know their key person during home visits prior to children's start at nursery. This approach helps children to settle in quickly when they arrive.

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provision requires improvement

Management follows robust employment and induction procedures to ensure staff suitability to work with children. Regular training ensures that staff understand child protection procedures. However, training is not focused sufficiently on improving the teaching skills of those staff working with the younger children. The manager does not make the best use of her qualification to always check the quality of teaching, planning and assessment rigorously enough across the nursery. Self-evaluation has brought about some improvements, including the introduction of a growing area outdoors. However, evaluation is not used effectively enough and does not highlight weaknesses in the activities and resources. Staff work closely with parents. They share ideas and equipment with them, such as story bags. This liaison fosters children's interest in books at home and at nursery.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY295936 Local authority Portsmouth Inspection number 837629 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 60 Number of children on roll 140 Name of provider Isambard Brunel Centre Ltd Date of previous inspection 11 January 2010 Telephone number 02392 651 549

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Setting details

Izzies Nursery registered in 2004. It operates from rooms in Isambard Brunel Junior School in the PO2 postcode of Portsmouth. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6pm, all year round, including bank holidays, except for one week between Christmas and New Year. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four years. There are 20 members of staff working with the children. Of these, the manager holds Early Years Professional Status and another member of staff has an early years degree at level 6. A further 16 staff hold recognised early years qualifications.

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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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