Steps Community Nursery

Steps Community Nursery Paces Campus, Pack Horse Lane, High Green, S35 3HY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14 March 2016 6 May 2010

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This inspection: Good 2

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good 2

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This provision is good

 Staff are sensitive to children's emotional needs and help them to feel secure and settled when they start in the setting. Children form strong attachments with staff, quickly developing confidence and self-belief.  Children are interested and motivated to play and learn. Staff's prompt and accurate assessments ensure that all children make good progress from their starting points and any gaps in learning close quickly.  Staff keep parents well informed about their child's progress and how they can support learning at home through regular feedback meetings and progress summaries. Parents particularly appreciate the home learning packs and song and rhyme sheets.  Partnerships with other professionals are highly effective. There are excellent systems for sharing information about disabled children and those with special educational needs and children who speak English as an additional language. As a result, individual

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This provision is good

programmes of learning support these children very well.  Managers and staff are passionate and committed to providing high-quality care and learning. Effective monitoring and regular reviews, which take into account the views of staff, parents and children, help to make sure that the nursery is continually evolving.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Staff support children's developing language and communication skills well. However, not enough opportunities are provided, across all age ranges, for children to develop their critical-thinking skills.  Managers have a good overview of children's individual progress. However, they do not yet monitor the progress of different groups of children, in order to help staff to raise all children's progress to the highest level.

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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

 help all children to develop their critical-thinking skills so they are challenged to make the best possible progress  refine the systems for monitoring children's progress to include different groups that sharply focus staff's teaching practice on raising all children's progress to the highest level.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities inside and outdoors and assessed the impact this has on children's learning.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the deputy manager.  The inspector looked at a sample of children's assessment records and discussed the systems for planning children's play experiences.  The inspector held a meeting with the manager and looked at a sample of policies, including risk assessments. She discussed the manager's procedure for self-evaluation and viewed the suitability, qualifications and recent training of staff working in the nursery.  The inspector spoke to a small selection of parents and children during the inspection and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. All staff know what action to take if they have concerns about children's welfare or development. Staff practice reflects robust health and safety policies and procedures which help to protect children from harm. A well-established programme of professional development is in place. Staff are supervised by the management team and benefit from a variety of opportunities to build on their knowledge and skills. This has a positive impact on the quality of care and education they provide. One example of this is staff using signing and visual timetables to help children communicate more effectively. Staff are committed to working in partnership with schools, settings and professionals to meet children's individual needs.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Children's individual needs are planned for by their key person, who knows them very well. Staff work well together to develop vibrant and inviting spaces which reflect the changing needs and development stages of all children. Children are given many opportunities to use and develop their senses. Babies enjoy looking at themselves in the mirror and eagerly build a tower of bricks before excitedly knocking it over. Toddlers and older children investigate using a range of paints, glue, scissors and collage materials to make Easter hats, cards and tree decorations. Staff play alongside children, demonstrate techniques and offer a good balance of support and challenge. Older children particularly enjoy listening to favourite stories at circle time. They confidently predict what will happen next and tell their friends that, 'He might get eaten like a cake'.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children's emotional and physical needs are met. They cheerfully enter the nursery ready to learn and are warmly welcomed by the managers and staff. Children quickly settle to activities with their friends, while parents share information with staff. Staff listen to children and let them know that their views are important. Children form a strong sense of belonging and are well supported to develop independence. They enjoy serving themselves at snack time and helping to tidy up before group time. Staff are positive role models who provide gentle guidance and praise, helping children to behave well. Outdoors, children connect with nature, experience all weathers and learn to take risks as they play. They propel themselves about on bicycles and scooters and eagerly climb, slide and play with hoops.

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Outcomes for children are good

All children, including those who are in receipt of funded education, make good progress. Babies and young children demonstrate a real sense of ownership in the nursery environment, confidently accessing resources and different play areas. They are eager to explore, inquisitive and quickly become keen learners. Older children's literacy and mathematical skills are developing well to support them in their next stage in learning and the eventual progression on to school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 300918 Local authority Sheffield Inspection number 864684 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 1 - 4 Total number of places 55 Number of children on roll 103 Name of provider Steps Community Nursery (High Green) Date of previous inspection 6 May 2010 Telephone number 0114 284 8060

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Setting details

Steps Community Nursery was registered in 2000. The nursery employs 18 members of childcare staff. Of these, one holds an appropriate early years qualification at level 2, 15 at level 3, one at level 6 and one holds Early Years Professional status. The nursery opens from 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. It supports disabled children and those with special educational needs and children who speak English as an additional language.

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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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