Dolls House Nursery

Dolls House 71 Havant Road, Cosham, PORTSMOUTH, PO6 2JD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 29 May 2015 30 November 2010

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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

 The owner ensures the safe and smooth running of the nursery with all requirements met well. All those involved have a clear understanding of their responsibilities to safeguard children due to effective induction and supervision procedures.  All staff and parents are fully involved in the self-evaluation process which the owner and manager use well to bring about continuous improvements for children. In addition, the strong focus on improving the professional development of staff has helped them to maintain the nursery's good standards.  A well-established system helps children to form very secure attachments with a designated member of staff, which promotes children's well-being effectively and provides a strong base for learning. Staff help children manage their personal care in readiness for the next stage in their learning and meet children's physical needs well.  Staff work successfully with parents and other professionals involved in children's care

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This provision is good

and learning to meet their individual needs effectively.  The high number of skilled staff give high priority to supporting children's language development. As a result, all children, including those with communication difficulties and those learning English as an additional language, are developing good communication and language skills.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Staff working with older children do not always plan small-group activities to help build children's concentration and learning as well as possible.  Staff working with children aged two to three years do not always have the highest expectations of what they can learn to do for themselves or how to promote this.

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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

 keep a careful check on how well staff plan activities to promote the oldest children's concentration and learning in small-group activities  raise teaching to a consistently very high quality in the Butterflies room by developing staff skills in how to extend children's early literacy skills and by making the most of all opportunities to promote further children's independence, for example, as part of the daily routines.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed staff and how they interact with children during play and learning activities, and how the routines and activities meet children's needs.  The inspector had discussions with the owner, manager and staff, and with children and parents to gain their views of the nursery.  The inspector undertook two joint observations with the manager.  The inspector sampled a range of documentation including staff and children's records, assessment and planning documents, and safeguarding procedures.  The inspector discussed the nursery's self-evaluation and how staff use the action plans to bring about continuous improvement.

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who attend. This is good

Staff use their qualifications well to provide an interesting and stimulating environment that encourages all ages of children to play independently and lead in their own learning. Staff teach the older children effectively when they play alongside them because they have a good understanding of how children learn. For example, staff encouraged children to count and to recognise numerals as they played a game of skittles. They extended children's mathematical and writing skills by helping them to add the numbers and to record the scores. Staff in the Butterflies room skilfully worded questions. They encouraged children to use words to describe the textures and smells of materials. This increased children's vocabularies and increased their investigative skills. However, staff do not always grasp opportunities for children to begin to use their early reading skills or encourage them to care for their belongings in readiness for the next stages in their

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who attend. This is good

learning. Younger children and babies gain good control of their bodies and build confidence in moving as they perform actions to songs. Staff use signs to help children understand and urge them to repeat words. As a result, all children gain the skills they need now and for their future learning.

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good

Staff support children effectively when moving to the next room, enabling them and their parents to become familiar with the new staff and routines. Children feel valued and included as staff use words in children's home languages. Staff use effective strategies to help children to settle and feel secure, such as by knowing who are the important people in children's lives. Children respond well to the consistent methods staff use to help children to manage their feelings and to learn to share and be kind to others. These are shared with parents who report using them successfully at home. This provides continuity for children, which helps them learn. Staff teach children to follow effective personal hygiene routines including hand washing after touching the nursery's pet rabbits.

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provision is good

The owner and manager regularly check children's progress to ensure the educational programmes meets their needs. Some checks lack rigour, and some weaknesses in the Pre-school and Butterflies rooms have not been identified. The owner has addressed recommendations from the previous inspection and staff have attended training in how to promote learning through outdoor play. They now provide a vast range of opportunities for children to learn and play outdoors, which benefits children greatly.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY348827 Local authority Portsmouth Inspection number 835233 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 55 Number of children on roll 138 Name of provider Dolls House Day Nursery Partnership Date of previous inspection 30 November 2010 Telephone number 02392 351 205

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Setting details

Dolls House registered in 2007. It operates from a house in Cosham, Portsmouth. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am until 6pm, all year except for one week over Christmas and all public holidays. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years old. There are 21 members of staff employed to work with the children, including the manager who holds a relevant early years qualification at Level 4. The remaining staff hold or are working towards a recognised early years qualification.

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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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