HeadStart Day Nursery

HeadStart Day Nursery Collyers Sixth Form College, 82 Hurst Road, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 2EJ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 5 October 2016 22 August 2013

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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 nursery owner and manager are highly successful in recruiting, developing and sustaining high-quality staff. They make exceptional use of self-evaluation to monitor the setting's effectiveness and to identify and target priorities for improvement.  Children's well-being is given the highest priority. For example, the setting achieved the 'Millies Mark' to show they exceed minimum requirements in keeping children safe. Staff are exceptionally committed and successful in helping their allocated key children through periods of change. Children have excellent outdoor play opportunities.  Staff complete very thorough observations and assessments of children. They know their key children extremely well; have high expectations of what they can achieve and work in close partnership with parents and other professionals to plan for their continued progress. All children make outstanding progress.  Staff provide highly exciting opportunities for children to learn about people and

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This provision is outstanding

communities, and the natural and working world. For example, from visits from the Royal National Lifeboat Institute and assistance dogs, about plumbing during play in the outdoor mud kitchen and as they nurture chick eggs through to hatching.  The setting establishes and maintains very strong partnerships with parents and any external agencies involved with children. Parents unanimously describe staff as going 'above and beyond' in supporting children's individual needs.

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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

 build on the excellent range of activities provided outdoors to encourage younger children to explore and experiment using their many senses and to support their pretend play skills indoors.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children's activities inside and outside.  The inspector sampled records and documentation relating to safeguarding, children's progress, staff suitability and self-evaluation.  The inspector sought and took account of the views of parents and staff.  The inspector held a meeting with the management team.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is outstanding

The management team provides high-quality mentoring and training for staff who proactively implement what they learn from these opportunities. For example, an outdoor learning workshop gave staff ideas for redesigning the garden. Staff have also worked tremendously hard and successfully to extend the level of challenge for older children. Management reflects extremely well on staff practice and a successful process for monitoring the progress of cohorts of children has been recently introduced. Safeguarding is effective. Procedures for recruiting and vetting staff and completing risk assessments are extremely rigorous. Management and staff complete regular child protection training linked to their levels of responsibilities. Everyone has a thorough understanding of what to do if they are concerned about a child's welfare or any other safeguarding matter.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

Staff are highly skilled in planning spontaneous activities which build on children's experiences and interests such as wind, plumbing and sewage. Staff ask children questions which prompt detailed answers and encourage further investigation. For example, children explain they are making chocolate soup in the mud kitchen and what their recipe includes. When water stops running through the sink pipes children are encouraged by staff to investigate the cause and fix the problem. Staff deploy themselves extremely well to provide children with maximum support, for instance to help their developing speech and language. While pre-school children engage in exciting imaginative and creative play and learning experiences, management recognise that babies and toddlers could have even more opportunities for sensory and pretend play.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

Children have an excellent understanding of how to keep themselves healthy and safe. For example, toddlers manage the steps to the nappy changing table extremely carefully. Children take part in a great deal of physical exercise, such as sports day. Babies have great fun negotiating the magnificent outdoor climbing tunnel and toddlers spend endless amounts of time digging outdoors. Children are particularly well supported by staff expertise in minimising parent-child separation anxiety. Staff consistently praise and encourage good behaviour. Squabbles are a rarity because children are very well occupied, but when they do occasionally arise these are well managed by skilled staff.

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Outcomes for children are outstanding

Children are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of their learning. They are motivated and highly independent. Children, including young toddlers, manage their own personal care extremely well. Older children link letters to sounds, recognise their names, develop strong early writing and mathematical skills and apply these independently.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY396037 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 1062289 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 0 - 4 Total number of places 50 Number of children on roll 61 Name of registered person Headstart Day Nursery (Southern) Limited

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 22 August 2013 Telephone number 01403 210560

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reference number

HeadStart Day Nursery registered under its current company status in 2009, although it was originally established by the current owner in 2003. It operates from three pre- fabricated buildings in the grounds of Collyers Sixth Form College in Horsham, West Sussex and includes a baby unit, toddler unit and a pre-school unit. There are enclosed outside play areas. The nursery receives early education funding for children aged two, three and four years. The nursery is open for 51 weeks a year from 8am to 6pm. A team of 19 staff work at the nursery. Of these, four hold childcare qualifications at level 6, 14 at level 3 and one at level 2.

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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

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

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