The Cottage Nursery

The Cottage Nursery Alexander Hall, Faringdon Road, Watchfield, Nr Swindon, Wiltshire, SN6 8TS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26 June 2017 26 January 2017

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management Requires improvement Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement Outcomes for children Requires improvement

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This provision requires improvement. It is not yet good because:

 Managers are not fully effective in monitoring and coaching staff, and the quality of teaching is not consistently strong. This weakness prevents some groups of children, including the most able children, from making consistently good progress.  Managers do not have an effective overview of how well groups of children in the setting are progressing. They do not provide effective support for children who are at risk of falling behind in their learning to catch up quickly enough.  Staff do not target their teaching effectively to help children reach the next stage in their learning quickly. They do not consistently provide a suitable level of challenge, and opportunities to extend children's learning further are being missed.

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It has the following strengths

 Managers have taken action to address weaknesses identified at the last inspection. Some of these changes are not fully embedded and require further improvements. Self- evaluation is ongoing and staff are aware of what they need to do next.  Staff know the children well and develop warm relationships with them, which supports children's emotional needs well, overall.  Managers establish positive partnerships with parents. Parents say that they feel well informed and included by staff. For example, the recent introduction of 'wow' cards encourages parents to contribute to their children's assessment records.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage the provider must:

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Due Date

 build further on the programme for staff's professional development to improve their teaching skills and to ensure they all have high expectations of what children can achieve, especially in their personal development 25/09/2017

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Due Date

 monitor the educational programmes more precisely and take swift action to target weaker aspects of learning to support all children to make good or better progress. 25/09/2017

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Due Date

To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

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Due Date

 provide activities that challenge older children's thinking and that further stimulate and extend their interest in exploring and learning.

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Inspection activities

 The inspectors observed the quality of teaching during activities indoors and outdoors and assessed the impact this has on children's learning.  The inspectors spoke with staff and children during the inspection.  The inspectors completed several joint observations of teaching with the manager.  The inspectors held several meetings with the management team.  The inspectors spoke to parents during the inspection and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

Managers have introduced supervision and training opportunities for staff and, although weaknesses in teaching remain, practice is steadily improving. Managers work closely with the local authority and others to monitor children's learning and improve the quality of the provision further. Staff implement new ideas from training with mixed success. For example, they support older children to link letter sounds to objects during a group game, but model the letter sounds incorrectly. Safeguarding is effective. Staff recognise the signs that may indicate a child is at risk of extreme religious views. They know where to go if they are concerned about a child's welfare or the behaviour of another adult. Risk assessment procedures have improved and support a safe environment. Managers maintain regular suitability checks on staff. They work in partnership with parents and gather required information from them, such as parental permission.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

Staff do not show a strong enough understanding of how to promote children's good progress. They do not encourage children to develop their own ideas and think through problems. For example, staff do not challenge older children in their mathematics when they show an interest in comparing how tall their sunflower plants have grown. Where teaching is better, staff engage in meaningful conversations with children and this helps develop their language skills. For example, when children find a spider in the sand, staff and children sing a rhyme about a spider together. Staff observe children as they play and have a general overview of their development. However, they do not target their teaching effectively to swiftly address the gaps in children's learning.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

Children are settled and play happily alongside staff, although weaknesses in teaching sometimes affect children's motivation to learn. Children have opportunities to develop their physical skills. For example, babies and toddlers enjoy digging in the sand and riding bicycles down slopes. Older children take risks as they climb and balance on equipment. Staff give children clear safety messages so that they begin to keep themselves and each other safe. However, staff do not do enough to develop some older children's self-care skills, such as toileting, to prepare them for their move to school.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

Due to weaknesses in the quality of teaching, children are not making the best possible progress. Some older children write their names and use number language in their play. Younger children gain some basic skills, for example, they learn to count as they sing number rhymes. Children behave well and follow simple rules. However, teaching does not sufficiently challenge children. Staff do not consistently support all children to make their needs known and to join in activities in readiness for school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY381532 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 1083970 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 - 5 Total number of places 150 Number of children on roll 89 Name of registered person The Cottage Nursery

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 26 January 2017 Telephone number 01793 314461

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reference number

The Cottage Nursery re-registered in 2008. The nursery operates from premises in Watchfield, near Faringdon on the Wiltshire/Oxfordshire border. The nursery opens on weekdays, from 8am to 6pm, for 50 weeks a year. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. A team of 24 staff is employed, of whom 20 hold a suitable childcare qualification.

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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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