Lancing Day Nursery & Pre-School

A Step Ahead at Lancing Lancing Children and Family Centre, 42 North Road, Lancing, BN15 9AB

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25 June 2015 Not applicable

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Not applicable How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend Good 2

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

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

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

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

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

The setting meets legal requirements for early years settings

p.1

This provision is good

 Staff support children's emotional well-being positively as they develop secure relationship with their key person. Children are confident and keen to interact with others.  Staff receive safeguarding training and are fully aware of who to contact if they have any child protection concerns.  Staff develop good links with local schools and prepare children well for the move from nursery. For example, they encourage children to be curious and keen to learn.  Staff use skilful questions to encourage children's thinking and expand their responses.  Staff use the outdoor areas to encourage children's learning. For example, there are different resources and activities to encourage children to practise early writing.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because:

 The staff use a range of methods to support children with their language development. However, they do not make full use of all available techniques.  The outdoor areas have a broad range of interesting resources. However, there is less reflection of the natural world in the younger children's area.

p.1

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

 strengthen further the good support for children to communicate by using a wider range of techniques  improve the outdoor area for the younger children so they can explore the natural world more.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the provider and manager, and completed a joint observation with the manager. She spoke to some staff and observed activities in the play rooms and the outside play areas.  The inspector looked at some children's records, including their learning assessments, and spoke to some key persons.  The inspector spoke to some parents during the inspection and took account of parents' views.  The inspector checked evidence of safeguarding practices, staff recruitment, ongoing professional development and self-evaluation processes.  This inspection was carried out following the risk assessment process.

p.2

who attend. This is good

Children's key persons know them very well and regularly assess their achievements to plan the next steps in their learning. Staff clearly display the most important step so any staff member in the room is able to support children effectively. Managers monitor how well groups of children progress. For example, they ensure there are no gaps between how well boys and girls learn. An emphasis on mathematics and early writing development helps all children make progress. Staff engage with parents and regularly inform them about the progress their children make. They encourage learning at home, which strengthens consistency in children's learning. Staff support children with additional needs well. They work in partnerships with other professionals to devise individual plans to help ensure all children make steady progress.

p.3

good

Recent changes in how staff organise groups of children has greatly improved children's behaviour. Children have fun learning through play as they engage with staff and other children. Staff make effective use of the resources to interest children. For example, children learnt about mixing colours and practised letter writing as they moved paint around under a plastic film on a table. They proudly shared that they knew that blue and red made purple. Children's health benefits from using the outside play area. The play equipment provides some physical challenges, supervised by staff. The older children benefit from larger equipment with some additional challenge.

p.3

provision is good

Thorough recruitment processes and comprehensive inductions for staff help ensure staff suitability. The management acts promptly to follow up any concerns about staff's conduct. They make regular checks in the day to ensure they meet adult to child ratios. The management provides staff with regular supervision meetings. They encourage staff to attend training courses to improve their practices. Management supports staff who want to gain a qualification as it helps them understand more about how children learn. The majority of the staff team have relevant first-aid training to deal with accidents. There is a suitable recording system in place to ensure staff inform parents. The effective evaluation of the nursery is ongoing and takes account of views from parents, staff and children. The development plans continue to improve children's experiences. There is effective information sharing with parents so they are very aware of the nursery practices.

p.3

provision is good

For example, the management holds parent meetings to discuss children's progress and important events, such as staffing issues.

p.3

Setting details

Unique reference number EY481001 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 1017409 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 63 Number of children on roll 119 Name of provider A Step Ahead Ltd Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 07980586622

p.4

Setting details

A Step Ahead at Lancing registered in 2014 and is one of six privately owned nurseries. It is situated alongside the Lancing Children and Family Centre, Lancing, West Sussex. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6pm all year around, except bank holidays. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years old. There are 17 members of staff, including the cook and three staff with Early Years Professional Status or Early Years Teacher Status. There are nine staff who have relevant level 3 qualifications and one with a level 5 qualification.

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