Abacus Nursery

Abacus Nursery Pinderfields Hospital, Aberford Road, WAKEFIELD, West Yorkshire, WF1 4DG

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25 April 2016 21 January 2010

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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

 Children are interested and motivated to play and learn. Staff's prompt and accurate assessments ensure that all children make good progress from their starting points and any gaps in learning are closed quickly.  Staff are sensitive to babies' and children's emotional needs and help them to feel secure and settled when they start in the nursery. Children form strong attachments with staff, quickly developing confidence and self-belief.  Staff keep parents well informed about their child's progress and how they can support learning at home through daily discussions, regular parents' events and information boards. Parents particularly appreciate the information sheets sent out termly with ideas about activities they can do at home.  Partnerships with other professionals are effective. There are robust systems for sharing information about children who speak English as an additional language and those who have special educational needs or disabilities. As a result, individual

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This provision is good

programmes of learning support these children well.  Managers and staff are passionate and committed to providing high-quality care and learning. Effective monitoring and regular reviews, which take into account the views of staff, parents and children, help ensure that the nursery is continually evolving.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Although staff support children's developing language and communication skills well, there are not enough opportunities provided across all age ranges for children to share and develop their own ideas and solve their own simple problems.  Performance management arrangements are in place. However, these do not yet focus precisely on supporting all staff to reflect on their already good teaching practice to raise children's achievements to the highest level.

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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

 enhance opportunities to help all children share and develop their own ideas and solve their own simple problems  extend opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice and strengthen the quality of teaching even further.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities inside and outdoors, and assessed the impact this has on children's learning.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector looked at a sample of children's assessment records and discussed the systems for planning children's play experiences.  The inspector held a meeting with the manager and looked at a sample of policies, including risk assessments. She discussed the manager's procedure for self-evaluation and viewed the suitability, qualifications and recent training of staff working in the nursery.  The inspector spoke to a small selection of parents and children during the inspection and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Robust security measures, such as the effective deployment of staff at arrival and collection times, ensure that children are well protected. Staff have a secure understanding of what to do and who to contact in the event of a child protection concern. Comprehensive induction procedures and regular supervision meetings support all staff to understand their roles and responsibilities. The manager monitors children's progress across all areas of learning. Where any gaps in their development are identified, interventions are put in place to help children catch up quickly.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Children's individual needs are planned for by their key person who knows them very well. Staff work well together to develop inviting spaces that reflect the changing needs and development stages of all children. Children are given many opportunities to use and develop their senses. Babies enjoy exploring paint with their fingers and eagerly press buttons in a book to make animal noises which they enthusiastically copy. Staff provide children with opportunities to investigate a wide range of materials. Toddlers and older children confidently use glue, scissors and collage materials, such as pompoms and sequins to create pictures. Older children eagerly help staff make dough and comment on how sticky, gloopy and stretchy it is. Staff play alongside children, demonstrating techniques and offering a good balance of support and challenge.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children cheerfully enter the nursery ready to learn and are warmly welcomed by the manager and staff. They quickly settle into activities with their friends while parents share information with staff. Children are well supported to develop independence. They learn how to attend to their self-care needs and enjoy serving themselves at snack and lunchtime. Staff are positive role models who provide gentle guidance and praise, helping children behave well. Children play well together and happily make each other pretend hot chocolate cakes. They spend good amounts of time playing outdoors. They are regularly physically active, playing on bikes, climbing on balancing equipment, exploring the mud kitchen and feeding the nursery chicken.

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Outcomes for children are good

All children, including those who are in receipt of funded education, make good progress. Babies and young children demonstrate a real sense of ownership in the nursery environment, confidently accessing resources and different play areas. They are eager to explore and inquisitive, quickly becoming keen learners. Older children's literacy and mathematical skills are developing well to support them in their next stage of learning and the eventual progression on to school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY337634 Local authority Wakefield Inspection number 849232 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Age range of children 0 - 14 Total number of places 166 Number of children on roll 300 Name of provider The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust Date of previous inspection 21 January 2010 Telephone number 01924 543039

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Setting details

Abacus Nursery was registered in 2006. The nursery and holiday club employs 43 members of childcare staff. Of these, one holds an appropriate early years qualification at level 2, 24 at level 3, four at level 4, three at level 5 and five at level 6. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 6.45am until 6pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports children who speak English as an additional language and children who have special educational needs or disability.

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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.

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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.

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Setting details

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Setting details

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Setting details

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