Maidendale Nursery

Maidendale Nursery Maidendale House, Burnside Road, Darlington, County Durham, DL1 4SU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 27 April 2015 28 March 2014

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Requires Improvement 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

 This is a happy and nurturing environment in which children thrive. Good relationships with staff and the high level of care make sure that children feel safe and secure.  The motivated staff team provide a wide variety of stimulating activities and good quality teaching in a vibrant learning environment. Because of this, all children make good progress in their learning and development relative to their starting points.  Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents are successfully involved in their children's learning and they are kept fully informed of their ongoing achievements.  The nursery is well led by the qualified, experienced and highly-motivated management team. They ensure robust recruitment and vetting procedures are in place. These help to ensure that adults working with children are suitable to do so and committed to providing good quality care.  Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported through

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This provision is good

effective partnership work with parents and relevant professionals.  A comprehensive self-evaluation is undertaken on a frequent basis with the views of parents, staff and children taken into account. This ensures continuous improvement.  Children are well safeguarded. Staff have a good understanding of their responsibilities for child protection and are confident in this role. Risk assessments ensure that any potential dangers to children are minimised.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 The provider does not always enable individual staff to share what they have learnt on training courses to help develop practice even further in all the nursery rooms.  Staff do not always sit with children at mealtimes so they can encourage conversation and model good social skills.

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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

 enable staff to fully share what they have learnt on training with their colleagues who work in other areas of the nursery so that all children benefit from this gained knowledge  use mealtimes as an opportunity as an additional way to develop children's communication and language by encouraging staff to sit with the children to encourage conversation and to act as positive role models to enhance their already good social skills even further.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had a tour of the premises and conducted a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector observed activities and the quality of teaching in all of the playrooms and outdoors.  The inspector sampled children's assessment records, planning documentation, and a range of other records, policies and procedures.  The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of staff working with children, the provider's self-evaluation and improvement plans.  The inspector took account of the views of children, staff and parents spoken to on the day of inspection.

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who attend. This is good

Good quality play and effective teaching mean that children learn successfully and are well prepared for school. Children's progress is carefully monitored and the next steps for their learning are effectively planned for. Staff give children's language development high priority, including children whose first language is not English. For example, where needed, the skills of an interpreter are used to ensure all children make rapid improvement. Although mealtimes present an opportunity for children to develop their independence as they serve their food, staff do not use this time to sit and talk to children and model good social skills. Staff plan many different ways for children to develop their literacy skills through making marks. Children have lots of fun as they use paintbrushes and water to make letters and marks in the outdoor area. They enjoy listening to stories or looking at books on their own. Books are used as a stimulus for planned activities, such

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who attend. This is good

as a story about a caterpillar read before an exciting bug hunt in the garden.

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good

Children have strong attachments with the warm and nurturing staff who care for them. Settling-in procedures are very much tailored to the individual needs of children and their families. Lots of information is gained about babies' and children's routines, likes, dislikes and interests. This helps to ensure a happy and smooth transition between home and the childcare provision. The nursery values all children individually and celebrates their differences and similarities effectively. Staff teach children to share and take turns and understand how their actions could affect the feelings of others. Care is taken to ensure all children are well supported when moving into a different room or on to school. This builds children's confidence and supports their emotional well-being. Staff help children to understand the importance of developing a healthy lifestyle through an emphasis on healthy eating, and daily physical exercise. Children trust the staff and feel safe as is

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good

shown by their confidence in making independent choices as they access all areas of the outdoor provision.

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provision is good

The management team provide clear leadership to the nursery and use the knowledge and expertise of their higher qualified staff to help them continually drive improvements forward. As a result, all staff are ambitious for the nursery provision and the children. Actions and recommendations raised at the last inspection have been successfully addressed to bring about improvement to children's care and learning. Staff are encouraged to undertake a wide range of training courses relevant to their job role. They successfully implement what they have learnt in their base rooms. However, they are not always given the opportunity to share their increased knowledge with the wider staff team so all children can benefit from this. Effective supervision and monitoring of staff practice ensure the good standards are maintained and staff feel supported and valued. This results in a settled, positive environment in which to care for children.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY358816 Local authority Darlington Inspection number 1011132 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 72 Number of children on roll 163 Name of provider Firth Moor & District Community Assn Committee Date of previous inspection 28 March 2014

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Telephone number

Maidendale Nursery was registered in 2004. The nursery employs 20 members of childcare staff. Of these, all hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and above. One member of staff holds Early Years Professional status. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday for 51 weeks a year. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Telephone number

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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Telephone number

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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Telephone number

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’.

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Telephone number

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

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