Margaret McMillan Nursery School

Margaret McMillan Nursery School Margaret MacMillan Nursery, 24 Hoe Street, Plymouth, PL1 2JA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10 November 2016 10 December 2013

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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 Outstanding 1

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This provision is good

 Exceptionally caring staff are highly skilled at meeting children's personal, social and emotional needs. Children form extremely secure emotional attachments with all staff.  Staff meticulously plan and provide a very welcoming, attractive and stimulating environment. This successfully motivates all children, including babies, to independently explore and participate in the broad range of learning experiences.  The manager and staff use accurate observations of children's achievements to carefully monitor their development. All children make good progress across all areas.  The manager shows a strong commitment to identifying and targeting areas for development to continue to maintain good outcomes for children. For example, she is reviewing the level of detailed information that staff share with parents to keep them well informed of how they can extend children's learning further at home.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 At times, staff do not make full use of opportunities to extend the development of the oldest toddlers and pre-school children; for example, through questioning to support their thinking skills and help them to solve problems.  Staff do not organise the time between tasks and activities as effectively as they could to engage older children in different learning opportunities. For instance, children have to sit and wait for several minutes for their friends to join them, during which staff do not engage them in discussions or activities.

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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

 take every opportunity to extend the learning of the oldest toddlers and pre-school children  review and improve the organisation of routines so that these more effectively support children's learning needs as they move between tasks and activities.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed the available resources and play areas, and observed routines and interactions between staff and children.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with a senior member of staff.  The inspector took account of the views of parents, children and staff spoken to on the day of inspection.  The inspector held discussions with the manager and a senior member of staff at appropriate times during the inspection.  The inspector sampled documentation, including children's learning records, completed accident and incident records, and staff's qualification certificates and suitability checks.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

Safeguarding is effective. All staff have a secure understanding of child protection issues and know how to refer any concerns about children's welfare. The manager closely monitors children's learning to evaluate their progress and provides prompt support for children who need extra help. For instance, she has used funding to buy resources that successfully help children who speak English as an additional language to develop their communication skills. Staff receive good support for their professional development. For example, through training, they learned how to make even better use of technology toys to support children's understanding of cause and effect. The provider has not ensured that all trustees have provided Ofsted with details to enable additional checks to be completed. This has no impact on children. Trustees have completed Disclosure and Barring Service checks and do not have unsupervised contact with children.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff plan a broad variety of activities and provide appealing resources that reflect children's interests and next steps in learning. For example, toddlers thoroughly enjoy the challenge of maintaining momentum as they ride bikes uphill. Older children show good coordination as they play computer games and knowledgeably control programmable toys. Overall, staff make prompt changes to meet children's needs and interests. For instance, when several babies chose to participate in an adult-led art activity at the same time, a member of staff set out an additional activity while they waited. This captured their attention successfully. Partnerships with parents are good. Staff keep parents well informed about how their children are progressing to enable consistency in their learning.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

Staff very effectively model respectful relationships, which teaches children excellent social skills. For instance, toddlers show great care and consideration for others as they offer cuddles to friends and staff. Children understand staff's expectations and know the boundaries. For example, toddlers remind their friends to walk indoors, and older children show high levels of self-control as they use a sand timer, without adult support, to take turns. Staff's meticulous planning of the learning environment successfully engages children in activities. For instance, babies concentrate as they make marks with crayons and chalks for impressive amounts of time.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children are confident learners. They make independent choices about what they like to do and manage their own care needs. They develop good communication skills and confidently interact with others to share their thoughts and ideas. All children make good progress in preparation for moving on to school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY461348 Local authority Plymouth Inspection number 1077307 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 62 Number of children on roll 99 Name of registered person Margaret McMillan Limited

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 10 December 2013 Telephone number 01752 664 884

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reference number

Margaret McMillan Nursery School first opened in 1935 but re-registered in 2013 due to a change in management status. The nursery opens from 8.15am to 6pm on weekdays throughout the year, closing for a week at Christmas and a week during August. There are 22 staff employed to work with the children, all of whom hold relevant childcare qualifications. One member of staff has early years professional status.

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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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