Little Oke's Nursery

Little Oke's Nursery 28 Station Road, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 1EA

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24 March 2016 26 October 2015

p.1

3

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Requires improvement Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement Outcomes for children Requires improvement

p.1

This provision requires improvement. It is not yet good because:

 The provider does not deploy staff effectively to ensure that children's play is purposeful and they are motivated to learn. Children make steady progress but staff do not keep them interested and extend their learning sufficiently.  Staff do not always monitor children's independent play to respond to children's changing needs and extend their learning.  Staff have not established strong links with Reception class teachers to ensure that teaching methods are complementary. Staff are unclear about teachers' expectations in relation to children's learning.

p.1

It has the following strengths

 Staff interact well with small groups of children and individuals. They give clear instructions and encourage children to develop the skills they need for their next stage of learning.  Partnerships with parents are developing well. They can look at their children's development online, enabling them to contribute to their learning.  Staff support children's growing independence skills, and children are confident and independent.  The manager assesses children's learning and is beginning to use the information to help staff plan for and improve children's learning and development.

p.1

What the setting needs to do to improve further

To meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage the provider must:

p.2

Due Date

 improve the deployment of staff to ensure children are consistently motivated and engaged in purposeful play, to help them make good progress. 26/05/2016

p.2

Due Date

To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

p.2

Due Date

 ensure staff monitor children's independent play to adapt activities and resources to maintain children's interest and provide more opportunities for learning  work in closer partnerships with relevant professionals, such as schools, to provide a consistent approach to children's learning and development.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day and those recorded in the provision's feedback records.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector observed activities in the playrooms and the outdoor play area.  The inspector held discussions with the provider and staff, including the manager.  The inspector checked documents relating to the suitability and qualifications of staff, and sampled documentation regarding planning and children's progress.

p.2

Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

The provider has taken action to tackle previous actions and recommendations. Staff now hold first-aid qualifications and staff are developing and adapting their planning to enable them to improve outcomes for children. However, the provider does not deploy staff effectively and this limits children's independent learning. The manager regularly meets with staff to discuss their practice and identify any training needs. For example, recent guidance has helped staff manage children's behaviour through using more positive strategies. Safeguarding is effective. All staff attend training and know the procedures to follow to protect children from harm. The provider and staff identify areas for development, such as making better use of the outdoor area. Staff liaise regularly with other early years settings, but their partnerships with schools are less successful.

p.3

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

Staff plan and prepare adult-led activities well. For example, children learn about what seeds need to grow, and how to tend their planned vegetable plot. During such activities, staff engage children's attention well, ask questions and encourage children to think and answer. However, staff are not always deployed effectively. When older children play independently, they become bored and aimless and, at times, their play becomes destructive. In addition, staff do not always notice that younger or quieter children are not occupied or motivated to learn at these times. Outside, staff support children's activities well. For example, they encourage children to practise early writing skills on chalkboards.

p.3

Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

Staff are caring and children confidently approach them and visitors. Children behave well, overall, and they play cooperatively with their friends. Children choose from a suitable range of resources. However, staff do not monitor children's engagement or use of resources well enough, to enable them to adapt activities or intervene to improve children's learning and motivation. Staff help children learn about safety, such as teaching them road safety on outings. However, due to weak staff deployment, they do not always notice potential safety issues relating to children's use of toys.

p.3

Outcomes for children require improvement

Children make suitable progress in their learning and learn some of the skills they need for school, such as early writing. However, due to ineffective staff deployment, older children sometimes lose interest in learning and younger children are not always well occupied. Children become fully involved in imaginative play outside, for example, by making meals for their friends.

p.3

Setting details

Unique reference number EY491059 Local authority Devon Inspection number 1033744 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Age range of children 0 - 4 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 34 Name of provider Lesley Cunningham Brown Date of previous inspection 26 October 2015 Telephone number 01837657426

p.4

Setting details

Little Oke's Nursery registered 2015. It operates from the lower level of a three-storey house near the town centre of Okehampton, Devon. It is open from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, all year round. Five staff work directly with children, four of whom hold appropriate childcare qualifications to level 3, with two holding Qualified Teacher Status.

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 reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/, write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.5

Setting details

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our website for news, information and updates at www.ofsted.gov.uk/user.

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