Thrive Cotton Lane

Smarties Nursery Cotton Lane, Cotton Edmunds, Chester, Cheshire, CH3 7PZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17 December 2015 20 November 2009

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Outstanding 1

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding 1

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding 1

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This provision is outstanding

 The owner has Qualified Teacher Status. She regularly models her outstanding practice, using highly effective communication to inspire staff. The owner expertly oversees the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Staff have an excellent understanding of how children learn. They use a wide range of highly successful teaching strategies that ensures children make very rapid progress.  Disabled children and those with special educational needs make excellent progress. Staff expertly identify, monitor and secure further support for these children.  Partnerships with parents, other professionals and schools are exemplary. The management team regularly seeks the views of parents, children, staff and the local authority advisors. This helps to identify precise and sharply focussed targets that drive forward ongoing improvements that offer all children optimal challenge and support.  Children's social and emotional development is supported exceptionally well. Staff

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This provision is outstanding

enthusiastically use every interaction as an opportunity to build relationships and develop children's understanding and use of language. Children form secure emotional attachments with staff through an exceptionally effective key-person system and settling-in procedure.  Exciting exploratory experiences are provided that encourage a multi-sensory approach to learning, increasing children's engagement and giving them a greater capacity for learning. Children investigate and explore the jelly, ice, paint, mud, sand and water. Children have excellent opportunities to develop their understanding of the world and their physical 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

 enhance the already exciting outdoor physical opportunities available, so that the older, more-able children experience an even higher level of physical challenge in their play.

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Inspection activities

 The inspectors observed the quality of teaching during activities indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact this has on children's learning.  The inspectors looked at children's assessment records and the planning documentation.  The inspectors completed a joint observation with the manager.  The inspectors held a meeting with the manager, who is also the provider. They looked at relevant documentation, such as the self-evaluation and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery.  The inspectors took account of the views of parents and children spoken to on the day and from information included in the nursery's own parent survey.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is outstanding

The management team has an excellent understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements. The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff are highly skilled at identifying and successfully minimising any potential risks to children. The owner successfully implements a highly comprehensive range of exemplary procedures and policies that support children's health, safety and well-being. The owner has an excellent understanding of any changes to the provision that must be notified to Ofsted. Staff receive regular individual support meetings where they can seek expert advice and discuss their future training requirements.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

Children who need additional help to develop their communication skills are supported exceptionally well. Most staff have had training and are very confident in their use of signing with children, which promotes the use of actions to support the spoken word. Children in the pre-school room thoroughly enjoy the daily literacy sessions where they learn actions for each of the letter sounds. They are confident in naming and signing many of the letters sounds. Children are extremely confident and self-assured. They make their own choices and establish their own ideas as they rapidly learn new concepts and solve problems. Children's understanding of the natural world is promoted exceptionally well. They have regular opportunities to observe the pig, goat and chickens in the outdoor learning environment. Children experience exciting hands-on learning in a woodland environment, where they explore and use a wide range of tools. Children who speak

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

English as an additional language are exceptionally well supported. Staff learn key words in the child's home language, and use these to expertly help children to communicate and to develop their use of English. Children are extremely well prepared for school.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

Meals and snacks provided for the children are extremely nutritious and balanced. Staff strongly promote outdoor learning and provide a wealth of stimulating learning opportunities for children outside. Babies, toddlers and older children play outdoors for extended periods throughout the day, even in the rain or when it is dark. Babies clamber and investigate as they crawl outside. Children have the opportunity to experience physical challenge and manage risks for themselves. They climb over, lift and manoeuvre the car tyres and use an extensive range of balancing and climbing equipment. There is the potential to develop the outdoor area further to provide a small group of older, more- able children with an even higher level of physical challenge in their play.

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Outcomes for children are outstanding

There is a highly effective, structured approach to assessing children's development. This is applied to the whole group, key groups and individual children. All children, including those who are funded or who speak English as an additional language, disabled children and those with special educational needs, make rapid progress.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 305305 Local authority Cheshire West and Chester Inspection number 855093 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 93 Number of children on roll 144 Name of provider Valerie Anne Silcock Date of previous inspection 20 November 2009 Telephone number 01829 741608

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Setting details

Smarties Nursery was registered in 1989 and is privately owned. The nursery employs 36 members of childcare staff. Of these, one holds Qualified Teacher Status, another holds Early Years Professional Status and a further member of staff holds Early Years Teacher Status. Of the remaining staff, six hold an appropriate early years qualification at level 6, one holds level 5, 16 hold level 3 and five hold level 2. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 8am until 6pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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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

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Setting details

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