St. Michael's Nursery

St. Michael's Nursery Bickington Road, Sticklepath, Barnstaple, Devon, EX31 2DB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 23 January 2017 4 October 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 Good 2

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This provision is good

 The effective key-person system means that all staff know the children well, and they settle and engage in their learning. For example, staff question children about natural and manmade materials, to provide challenge for children to think for themselves.  Self-evaluation is successful. The manager very effectively includes the views of children, staff and parents to help identify areas to develop. This has led to improved partnerships with parents, where staff meet more regularly with them. Parents help to identify their children's next steps and contribute positively to the planning and assessment process. Children make good progress.  Staff provide a warm and welcoming environment and are good social role models for children. Children feel cared for and safe. They behave well and show respect for others. For example, babies offer to share toys with others.  The manager works closely with parents, staff and professionals to support children

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This provision is good

who have special educational needs and/or disabilities to make good progress.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Although the manager monitors the progress of individual children well, she does not closely track the progress of different groups of children to easily recognise and target potential gaps and patterns in their learning.  Staff working with the babies and pre-school-aged children do not use planning as well as they could, to focus more accurately on what they need to learn next.

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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

 use planning more precisely for babies and pre-school-age children, to more accurately focus on what they need to learn next  track the progress of different groups of children more closely to easily recognise and target potential gaps and patterns in their learning.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the children and staff taking part in a variety of indoor and outdoor activities, and evaluated the quality of teaching.  The inspector talked with the manager, staff and children at appropriate times.  The inspector interviewed and conducted a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector sampled documentation, including records relating to children's progress and safeguarding.  The inspector talked with parents and took into account their views.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

Safeguarding is effective. The management team ensures all new staff, students and volunteers are safe to work with children and regularly checks their ongoing suitability. It trains staff well to identify the signs that might indicate a safeguarding concern and the correct procedures to follow to protect children from harm. The manager selects training well to secure good outcomes for children. For instance, recent training in outdoor learning has helped staff to support pre-school children to learn about materials, plants and insects and develop a good understanding of the natural world.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff provide children with a stimulating learning environment. Children are engaged in their play for significant amounts of time and enjoy the activities planned for them. For example, three-year-old children enjoy flicking paint and making moon rocks out of playdough, developing good control of their movements and the muscles in their hands. Staff support children's communication and language development well. For example, they repeat babies' words and encourage older children to extend their sentences. All children develop good early literacy skills. For example, babies chose to look at books independently, turn the pages correctly and show pictures in the book to other children and staff. Two-year-old children choose to make marks and enjoy explaining their drawings. They enjoy listening to stories, predicting what will happen next and joining in with repeated rhymes.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Staff develop children's self-confidence well and value children's opinions. For example, older children use ballot boxes to choose books they will read that day. Children are motivated learners and show curiosity in their play. Children learn to challenge themselves and assess risks. Children aged three and four years, for instance, learn about fire safety and how to use sharp objects, such as potato peelers, carefully during their weekly forest school sessions. Staff support children's physical development and health well. For example, all children have daily access to the fresh air outside and older children benefit from attending rugby, tennis and dance sessions.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children display high levels of independence. For instance, two-year-olds use cutlery well to cut up their food at mealtimes, and babies confidently select their own resources with which to play. Pre-school-aged children learn to count to 10 and beyond, and how to find total amounts by adding. They learn to recognise and write the letters in their names. Children develop the skills they need that prepare them well for future learning and their move to school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY463033 Local authority Devon Inspection number 1063535 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 - 8 Total number of places 69 Number of children on roll 134 Name of registered person St Michael's Learning Centres Ltd

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 4 October 2013 Telephone number 01271 327074

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reference number

St Michael's Nursery registered in 2013. It operates from Barnstaple, Devon. The nursery is open each weekday for 50 weeks of the year from 8am to 6pm. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. There is a team of 32 staff, 28 of whom work directly with children. Of these, one member of staff holds a relevant early years qualification at level 6, one member of staff holds a relevant early years qualification at level 5 and three hold a level 4. Of the remaining staff, 19 hold a childcare qualification at level 3 and there are four unqualified members of staff. The nursery employs an administration person who works in the nursery and four catering staff who work off-site to prepare lunches.

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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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