Ashington Minors

Ashington Minors Back Sycamore Street, ASHINGTON, Northumberland, NE63 0AH

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19 May 2015 3 December 2014

p.1

3

Previous inspection: Inadequate 4 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

p.1

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

 Managers and staff are not clear about how the planning should work in practice to ensure that activities stem from children's interests and individual learning needs.  Staff are not always consistent or positive in helping children to understand the expectations and boundaries of behaviour, especially during routines, such as at lunch time.  Staff have not yet fully established ways in which children can access the outside areas more freely, to give them more choices and to further support their learning in the outdoors.  Staff in the pre-school room do not fully support children's independence and self-help skills, such as encouraging them to serve themselves at mealtimes.

p.1

It has the following strengths

 Staff have appropriate qualifications and regular appraisals with managers, which helps to identify any training needs, and they complete training courses to update their knowledge. Consequently, staff have suitable skills to carry out their roles and care for children.  The managers monitor the provision fairly well and check children's learning, development and progress appropriately. They review what they do and are currently introducing new systems to help them carry out a more precise way of monitoring this.  Staff are friendly, warm and caring and dedicated to their roles. Therefore, children form close bonds with staff and they develop good partnerships with parents.

p.1

What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

p.2

What the setting needs to do to improve further

 identify the individual needs, interests and stage of development of each child and use the information from observations to plan challenging and enjoyable experiences for each child across the areas of learning so that they make good progress  help children to understand appropriate behaviour in groups, by ensuring that staff offer consistent support and make their expectations of behaviour clear in a positive way, specifically at lunchtimes.

p.2

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

 consider ways in which children can access the outside areas more freely, to further promote their learning in the outdoors  enhance pre-school children's independence and self-help skills, by encouraging them to serve themselves and give staff the opportunity to sit with them at lunchtime to role model these skills.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector had a tour of the premises and held a meeting with the registered person and manager.  The inspector carried out a joint observation of an activity with the registered person and spoke to members of staff and children at appropriate times during the inspection.  The inspector took into account the views of parents spoken to on the day of the inspection.  The inspector looked at a sample of staff training certificates, children's learning journals and assessment records, the focussed improvement plan and a range of policies and procedures.  The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of staff working in the nursery.

p.2

who attend. This requires improvement

The quality of teaching is sound and children enjoy their time in the nursery. They actively and enthusiastically take part in music and movement activities and staff support them well to develop new skills, such as cutting with scissors. A new observation, assessment and planning system has been introduced. However, managers do not ensure that staff are clear or sufficiently supported to use this in practice. Consequently, staff do not use information from their observations consistently to plan activities that stem from children's interests and individual learning needs. Staff sing songs and read stories with small groups of children, which keeps them engaged and interested. Staff work well with parents and engage them appropriately in their child's learning. For example, they arrange 'stay and play' sessions for their key children and parents, which are proving to be popular. This ensures that parents share what they know about their child's development and interests

p.3

who attend. This requires improvement

effectively and have good opportunities to view their child's learning journals. Children are sufficiently supported to help them move on in their learning in readiness for school. For example, when children use inset bead trays, staff encourage them to use colours and patterns in sequence to achieve their aim of making a house.

p.3

requires improvement

Staff treat children as unique individuals and follow their care routines from home, which meets their needs appropriately. For example, staff caring for babies are experienced, skilled and competent and staff caring for two-year-old children greet them enthusiastically when they arrive at nursery in 'superhero' outfits. All staff are attentive and caring, which means that children's emotional needs are well met. Children love to play outside in the fresh air and the gardens are gradually being developed, which ensures that children's physical skills and outdoor learning is appropriately supported. However, staff have not yet fully established ways that children can access the outdoor areas more freely, rather than on a planned basis. Generally, children are self-motivated and enjoy their play. Overall, their behaviour is good and most staff manage this positively. However, staff are not always consistent in ensuring that children know the expectations

p.3

requires improvement

of behaviour to help them understand what is acceptable. They also do not fully support children's independence and self-help skills, especially during routines, such as lunchtime.

p.3

provision requires improvement

Managers have an appropriate knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and understand how to keep children safe. They know what to do if they have concerns about a child's welfare and have recently updated their safeguarding and fire safety training. Staff work well with other professionals, such as speech and language therapists and portage workers. This means that individual children receive appropriate intervention and support as necessary to help them make progress. Managers and staff have worked hard to improve the nursery since the last inspection. They devise focussed improvement plans and involve the children in making decisions about what they want to see in the nursery.

p.3

Setting details

Unique reference number EY346062 Local authority Northumberland Inspection number 1001013 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 66 Number of children on roll 128 Name of provider Ashington Minors Ltd Date of previous inspection 3 December 2014 Telephone number 01670 858887

p.4

Setting details

Ashington Minors Nursery was registered in 2007. It is situated in Ashington, Northumberland and is owned and managed by two private individuals. There are 19 members of staff. Of these, 15 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 5, 4 or 3. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday for 51 weeks of the year and is closed on bank holidays. Sessions are between 7am until 6.30pm. There is also a wrap-around service and an out-of-school provision. The nursery provides funded early education for two- and three-year-old children.

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