Little Apples Day Nursery

Little Apples Nursery Cunningham House, Christowe Lane, CHELTENHAM, Gloucestershire, GL53 7BY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16 July 2015 2 September 2011

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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

 Staff support children with additional needs well. The special educational needs and disabilities coordinator has well-established methods for organising and supporting children well. As a result, children have their individual needs met and make good progress alongside their peers.  All staff are skilled and sensitive in helping children form secure emotional attachments and this is particularly strong for the babies. Effective care practices mean staff meet children's individual care needs and their emotional and physical well-being is supported effectively.  Staff promote good settling-in processes which involve parents well. As a result, children settle quickly at the nursery.  An effective programme of staff training focuses on the impact for children. This means that teaching is continuously improving to ensure that all children make good progress and that staff skills and knowledge continue to develop.

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This provision is good

 The quality of teaching is good. The experienced and well-qualified staff team provides stimulating and interesting experiences based on children's interests, both inside and outside. Consequently, all children make good progress in all areas of their learning from their starting points on entry.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Staff do not always fully encourage all parents to celebrate their children's ever changing interests and achievements from home.  Staff do not consistently promote opportunities for children to explore, be creative and imaginative with a wide range of tactile materials.

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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

 encourage parents to actively share children's changing interests and achievements at home so staff can better reflect these in the experiences provided  make better use of natural, real and material resources for children to be inspired to use them more in their free play to enhance their imaginations and creativity.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with leaders at appropriate times during the inspection and in a scheduled meeting.  The inspector observed children's activities and staff teaching inside and outside.  The inspector looked at documentation, including a sample of children's records, planning and assessment records, and checked the suitability of staff to work with children.  The inspector took account of the views of children, staff and parents spoken to on the day of the inspection, and of the provider's self-evaluation.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the deputy manager.

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who attend. This is good

Staff have a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and how children learn. Robust observations and assessments of children's learning and development clearly monitor progress and identify next steps, which feed into planning. Staff provide a good range of adult-led and child-initiated play and learning opportunities, which support children to develop skills to prepare them for school. For example, group time activities mean children talk about what they are looking forward to about school and learn about what to expect; this prepares them emotionally for the move to school. This time also supports their social skills well and enhances their communication and language skills as they learn to take turns in conversation and acknowledge the feelings and thoughts of others. Staff effectively support children in developing good language skills as they discuss what they are doing during play and question children skilfully so that they think deeper

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who attend. This is good

and are challenged to solve problems. As a result, children are confident communicators with good vocabularies.

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good

Staff take particular responsibility for some children with whom they develop good relationships. Children are well cared for. Children enthusiastically explore the indoor and outdoor learning environments. They access a good range of challenging and stimulating resources and equipment, such as tyres for balancing on and various objects to make obstacle courses. Children's physical development is well promoted and staff teach them about healthy lifestyles and good hygiene. Staff support parents in providing healthy and well-balanced meals for their children. Children learn about the importance of keeping themselves healthy and safe through visits from specialist services, such as the police, ambulance service and firefighters.

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provision is good

All staff promote children's safety and safeguard them well. Staff effectively support children to understand how to keep themselves safe. Arrangements for the evaluation of practice, supervision of staff and professional development drive improvements and lead to consistency in the quality of teaching. Staff are effectively supported with their continuous professional development. Communication and language training has resulted in the provision of a good-quality, language-rich environment. Opportunities for all staff to share their good teaching practice are embedded as staff use staff meetings to share what they have learnt on courses with colleagues. An effective self-evaluation process involving children and parents clearly identifies strengths and areas for improvement. Staff support children well when they move on to the next stage in their learning. This is due to effective partnerships with parents, schools and specialist services.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY423938 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 965833 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 75 Number of children on roll 125 Name of provider Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Date of previous inspection 2 September 2011 Telephone number 0300 422 2260

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Setting details

Little Apples Nursery is managed by Gloucestershire Hospitals National Health Service Trust for staff working at Cheltenham General Hospital. The nursery is open all year round from 7am to 6pm with the exception of bank holidays. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four. The trust employs 23 staff. The manager holds a BA degree in Early Childhood Studies and has achieved Early Years Professional Status. The deputy manager holds a BA degree in Early Childhood Studies and has achieved Early Years Teacher Status and 14 other staff hold suitable childcare qualifications ranging between levels 3 and 6. The remainder of staff are unqualified.

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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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