Stepping Stones Nursery School

Stepping Stones Nursery School Shardeloes Cricket Pavillion, Shardeloes, Missenden Road, Amersham, HP7 0RL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19 September 2016 3 October 2012

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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

 The manager and staff build strong and meaningful partnerships with parents. They provide parents with a wide range of useful information that enables them to further support learning at home.  Staff ensure that resources and play experiences are well organised and inviting. Children show great interest in the activities on offer and are keen to explore, play and learn. They make good progress.  Staff use their assessments of individual children's progress well when planning how to meet their individual needs. They use a wide variety of teaching strategies to extend children's understanding during independent play and more focused learning activities.  Staff prepare children well for the move to school. For example, they encourage children to practise some of the routines of a typical school day.  Children enjoy their time at nursery. They settle quickly into the routines and arrive happily at the beginning of each day. Children are very well behaved and polite to each

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 The manager has not yet fully established arrangements for monitoring the impact that teaching is having on the progress of different groups of children.  Staff do not consistently make the best use of opportunities to teach children about the importance of good hygiene practices.

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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

 develop arrangements for monitoring the progress of different groups of children  make better use of opportunities to teach children about the importance of good hygiene practices, as part of helping children to learn about keeping healthy.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children and staff, indoors and outdoors.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector took account of the parents' views.  The inspector spoke with staff about their understanding of safeguarding and child protection.  The inspector sampled documentation, including children's records, the provider's policies and staff qualifications.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

Safeguarding is effective. The manager has a clear understanding of the action to take if she has concerns about a child's welfare. She ensures staff receive the necessary training to share her good knowledge of their role in safeguarding children. The manager provides staff with feedback on their performance and organises training to enable them to improve their teaching further. Staff make good use of their qualifications and training to work with colleagues to further develop learning opportunities for children. For example, improving resources and teaching for younger children. The manager works well with other professionals to identify and implement further improvements.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff are confident teachers. They engage well with children as they play. For example, staff extend children's mathematical understanding as they play a pretend game of 'going on holiday'. Staff encourage children to match the numbers from their boarding cards with those on their seats. Staff provide lots of opportunities for children to practise their early writing skills, indoors and outdoors, such as when children are pretending to be builders or receptionists. They organise shared reading opportunities well, reading longer stories with older children and sharing more appropriate books with younger children. They help children solve problems, such as when working out which bucket of sand is the heaviest and how to open and close pegs.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children build warm relationships with staff. They are relaxed and happy in their company. They learn to look after each other and their surroundings. For example, children carefully return toys to their boxes and help sweep the floor when helping staff to tidy up. They gain an understanding of their own community and the wider world and take part in a range of activities to celebrate festivals from their own and other cultures. Staff ensure children's physical needs are well met. They provide nutritious meals and snacks and ensure children have plenty of opportunities for physical exercise. For example, they enjoy using large play equipment outdoors.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children make good progress and gain the skills needed for their future learning. They are enthusiastic about learning and confident when taking part in new experiences. For example, children are keen to find out about a range of different textures and smells as part of a painting activity. Children learn to be considerate to others and to enjoy the company of other children and adults. They develop their speaking, listening and physical skills in readiness for reading and writing and increase their mathematical skills. They are well prepared for their move to school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY376771 Local authority Buckinghamshire Inspection number 1058872 Type of provision Sessional provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Age range of children 2 - 3 Total number of places 34 Number of children on roll 30 Name of registered person Leaping Lizards Day Nursery Ltd

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 3 October 2012 Telephone number 0149 443 3020

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reference number

Stepping Stones Nursery School registered in 2008 and is situated on the outskirts of Amersham, Buckinghamshire. It operates from 9.15am to 3.15pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and from 9.15am to 1pm on Wednesday, during term time only. The provider is in receipt of funding to provide free early years education to children aged three and four years. There are seven members of staff, one of whom holds early years professional status, one of whom holds qualified teacher status and three more hold appropriate childcare qualifications at level 3.

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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

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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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