The Learning Tree Kindergarten & Nursery School

The Learning Tree Kindergarten & Nursery School 115 Thorpe Road, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE3 6JQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 1 June 2017 15 June 2015

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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 management team constantly strives to ensure it delivers the best possible care and learning opportunities for children and their families. They reflect critically on their practice and identify areas that can be developed even further.  Partnership working with parents is excellent. There are highly successful strategies in place to positively engage parents. Parents comment that they have nothing but praise for the care and learning their children receive.  Staff are very good role models and promote high standards of behaviour. Children are helped to be gentle and thoughtful. They learn how to be kind towards each other and staff help children to think why their actions might not be appropriate.  Children of all ages enjoy spending time in the exceptionally stimulating outdoor area. This provides them with physical exercise and an outstanding range of experiences.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Although staff benefit from frequent opportunities to speak with the provider, the programme for performance management is not yet sharply focused on enhancing the quality of teaching to the highest level.  Systems to compare the progress of different groups of children are not yet fully embedded to provide a sharp focus in raising attainment even further.

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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

 strengthen the evaluation of staff's teaching so that specific areas of improvement for individuals can be identified and supported through targeted professional development  build further on the systems for comparing the progress of different groups of children to help identify where the provision can be improved even further and support children make the best possible progress.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact this has on children's learning.  The inspector spoke with staff and children during the inspection.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the curriculum manager.  The inspector held a meeting with the provider, curriculum manager and operations manager. She looked at relevant documentation and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery.  The inspector spoke to a number of parents during the inspection and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

Arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The management team and staff place the utmost priority on keeping children safe in the nursery. Staff know how to identify if children may be at risk of harm and where to report concerns about children's welfare. The provider has good recruitment procedures in place to check the suitability of adults when they start to work at the nursery. The provider has a high level of commitment to supporting staff to further their qualifications through training. Additional funding is used very effectively to support individual children's interests and good progress.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

The well-qualified staff are reflected in the good quality teaching experiences children receive. Staff observe children and assess their development to accurately identify what children need to learn next. Staff plan activities that thoroughly engage children and promote all aspects of learning. For example, staff help nurture children's interest in dinosaurs when they explore and make fossils and dress up in costumes to put on a puppet show. Children confidently tell visitors, 'Do you know why there are no dinosaurs? Because they are extinct'. Staff skilfully join in children's play in order to extend their talk and enrich their vocabulary. For example, while playing alongside toddlers washing cars, staff engage them in a conversation about a time they might have visited a car wash.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children demonstrate that they feel emotionally safe, secure and confident in the care of the staff. Staff form trusting and meaningful relationships with children. Staff in the baby room are very sensitive and responsive to meeting babies' individual needs. They offer cuddles when babies wake from a sleep and provide reassurance when they are unsure of visitors. Staff are caring and vigilant. They help children learn how to keep themselves safe. Staff give gentle reminders to hold the bannister and keep looking forward as children climb the stairs. Staff make good use of mealtimes to promote and develop children's social skills and independence. Pre-school children chat among themselves as they help themselves to vegetable pasta and ask for seconds.

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Outcomes for children are good

All children make good progress in their learning and development, considering their different starting points. Children develop a very good knowledge of letters and the sounds they represent. They identify complicated dinosaur names and confidently name and identify the letter they begin with. Children add their own observation when a letter is the initial sound of a name they recognise. The nursery is full of happy and inquisitive children, keen to explore and motivated to learn. This contributes to their next stage in learning and their eventual move on to school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 256834 Local authority Peterborough Inspection number 1090450 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 - 4 Total number of places 48 Number of children on roll 103 Name of registered person Valerie Grys

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 15 June 2015 Telephone number 01733 313391

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reference number

The Learning Tree Kindergarten & Nursery School registered in 1990. The nursery employs 18 members of childcare staff. Of these, 10 hold an appropriate early years qualification at level 3, one holds qualified teacher status, one holds a degree in early years studies, one holds early years teacher status and a degree in early years studies, and the provider holds early years professional status and qualified teacher status. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 8am until 5.30pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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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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