Umbrella Nursery

Umbrella Nursery Thistley Hill, Melbourne Avenue, Dover, CT16 2JH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 9 August 2016 22 July 2013

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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

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

 Some staff do not have a full understanding of how to thoroughly complete risk assessments, particularly in the outdoor area. This leads to minor hazards, such as brambles, not being identified.  Staff are not always deployed effectively to meet the care and learning needs of all the children in their care.  Staff do not always plan activities that are age appropriate and which extend children's learning. Children do not always make good progress from their starting points.  Managers do not always effectively monitor practice to make sure that all staff have a full knowledge of their roles and responsibilities.

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It has the following strengths

 Close bonds and secure attachments are evident between staff and children. This helps children to be emotionally secure, develop into active learners and be keen to explore.  Staff are good role models and use consistent behaviour strategies. They encourage children's understanding of sharing and good behaviour through explanation and discussion. Children behave well.  Parents are well informed about the progress their children make. Staff and parents share information about children's development and work well together to support children's learning in the nursery and at home.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage and the Childcare Register the provider must:

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Due Date

 improve staff's understanding of completing risk assessments to ensure all hazards to the children are kept to a minimum 31/08/2016

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Due Date

 deploy staff to ensure children's care and learning needs are fully met at all times 31/08/2016

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Due Date

 develop planning of activities that more precisely meet children's individual needs and provide them with challenge, to help them make progress from their starting points. 31/08/2016

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Due Date

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

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Due Date

 strengthen methods used to monitor staff and identify weaknesses in their practice to ensure they fully understand their roles and responsibilities.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities and the quality of teaching indoors and outdoors.  The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including key policies and procedures, the self-evaluation form and children's development records.  The inspector took account of parents' views.  The inspector spoke to members of staff and children at appropriate times during the inspection.  The inspector held meetings with the acting manager, nominated person and head office team, and completed a joint observation with the acting manager.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

Managers do not fully monitor and support staff to ensure they have a thorough understanding of their role and responsibility. For example, staff understand basic risk assessment but do not fully understand how to thoroughly assess all areas, particularly the outdoors. They had not identified minor hazards, such as nettles and brambles. Safeguarding is effective. Management and staff have a thorough awareness of child protection matters and understand the procedures for reporting any concerns they may have about an individual child or a member of staff. Managers include the views of staff and parents in their effective self-evaluation process to help identify areas for development. Staff extend their knowledge through, for example, attending management meetings and in-house training. They have improved their understanding of the planning, observation and assessment system. Managers review children's progress and have

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

bought resources to help them catch up where there are gaps in their learning.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

Staff plan and provide a varied range of activities. However, on occasions, these can be too challenging and children lose interest. For example, staff read books to young children with complex stories and too many words for them to understand. Staff observe children so they know what they can do to support them in their next steps of learning. However, due to inconsistent monitoring of staff practice some assessments of children's development are not as precise as others. Since the previous inspection, the staff have reviewed the environment and made writing equipment and musical instruments more accessible to the children. For example, babies develop their early writing skills as they draw lines using crayons.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

Staff form very strong bonds with the children, particularly the babies. However, at times they are not deployed well enough to support all the needs of the children. For example, when the staff have to settle babies the other children's needs are not fully met. Children are supported with their move to school. Good links with the local children's centre enable staff to use additional resources to extend children's understanding of the new school environment and routine. Children play in a well-resourced and interesting environment where they have regular access to the outdoor areas to fully extend their physical skills.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

Children are mainly happy and settled, but they do not all make consistently good progress. They show confidence when choosing resources and deciding where they want to play. Children use their imaginations well. For example, they talk about the price and how much petrol they need as they pretend to fill the cars from the petrol pump.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY443819 Local authority Kent Inspection number 1028838 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 30 Number of children on roll 34 Name of registered person Alpha Nurseries Ltd

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 22 July 2013 Telephone number 01304203040

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reference number

Umbrella Nursery is owned by Alpha Nurseries Ltd and operates in Dover, Kent. The nursery is open five days a week from 8am to 6pm for 52 weeks of the year, closing on bank holidays. There are 14 qualified members of staff working directly with the children. This includes the manager who holds a level 4 qualification and nine staff holding level 3 qualifications. The nursery receives funding to provide free early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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reference number

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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reference number

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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reference number

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reference number

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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