The Oaks Nursery

The Oaks Nursery Parkwood Road, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7FL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 9 August 2017 10 July 2014

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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 manager and senior staff work together and accurately evaluate the nursery. They actively include the views of parents and children to identify areas for further improvement. For example, they now welcome more visitors in to extend children's experiences and understanding of the world and local communities.  Staff effectively enhance children's communication and language skills. For example, they clearly emphasise key words throughout their interactions and use clear visual signs to help babies and children's understanding and speaking skills.  The key-person system works well and relationships between staff, children and babies are strong. Staff are sensitive and responsive to their needs, and provide consistent and effective support to help babies and children move on through the nursery.  Partnerships with parents are strong and staff use various ways to engage and involve parents effectively in the nursery and their children's learning. Parents value the bonds

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This provision is good

that staff have with their children and appreciate the good-quality care they receive.  All children make good progress in their learning from their starting points.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 The organisation of snack times and mealtimes for younger children does not always support their engagement and enhance their learning.  Staff do not always make the most of opportunities for children to understand mathematical concepts, such as size and volume.

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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

 make the most of daily routines to consistently engage younger children and enhance their learning  enhance even further opportunities for children to understand mathematical concepts, such as size and volume.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching and children's activities, completed a joint observation with the manager, and held discussions about children's progress and learning.  The inspector held conversations with the manager, staff and children throughout the inspection.  The inspector checked evidence of staff suitability checks and their qualifications, and sampled relevant policies and procedures.  The inspector took into account the views of the parents during the inspection.  The inspector observed staff planning and children's assessment records.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

The management team effectively monitors individual children's progress and that of different groups of children, to close any emerging gaps in their learning and development successfully. The manager continually improves the quality of staff practice, for example, by organising relevant training and individual support to raise standards in teaching. For example, staff accessed training to gain information and enhance the environment to help engage boys in creative role-play experiences. Safeguarding is effective. The management team and staff keep their safeguarding knowledge up to date and are fully aware of current legislation. They understand their role in child protection and know the reporting process to follow if they have concerns about a child's welfare.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff accurately assess individual children's development and effectively plan for their next steps in learning with parents. Staff understand what children know and how they can further support children's development. For example, as children role play being pirates and finding treasure, staff effectively extend their learning, such as teaching them the names of pirate flags and explaining where pirates live, sleep and what they eat. Staff make good links with other settings that children attend. They share children's developmental information and this helps to provide good continuity of care and education.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children and babies are happy in the environment, which is organised well to enable them to follow their play choices across all areas of learning and development. Staff help children develop their growing independence skills. For instance, they enjoy being actively involved in the preparation and clearing away of their snack. Staff help children and babies to develop their awareness of healthy lifestyles. For example, they provide a choice of nutritious snacks and engage children in conversations about healthy choices. Staff build on children's confidence and sense of belonging well. For example, they consistently praise children for their achievements. Children and babies develop a good understanding of diversity beyond their immediate family. They enjoy exploring the environment, which is rich in positive cultural images and dual language text, including books and role-play resources.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children develop the skills needed for their future learning and move to school. For example, they learn to give meanings to the marks they make, and identify and write their own names. Children and babies play and explore cooperatively together. They confidently communicate their needs, ideas and views within their play experiences. For example, older children negotiate what equipment they need for the bug hunt that they decided they wanted to do.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY474864 Local authority Kent Inspection number 1071813 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 90 Number of children on roll 108 Name of registered person Kent Union

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 10 July 2014 Telephone number 01227 827 676

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reference number

The Oaks Nursery is run by a charity and registered in 2014. The nursery is situated on the university site in Canterbury, Kent. It is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm, for 50 weeks of the year. There are 30 members of staff, 26 of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. This includes 21 staff with qualifications at level 3 or above and one member of staff who has early years professional status. The provider is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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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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