Little Alligators Nursery

Little Alligators Nursery 34 Market Place, WARMINSTER, Wiltshire, BA12 9AN

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17 January 2017 Not applicable

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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:

 Procedures to monitor staff performance are not effective in improving the quality of teaching. Managers meet regularly with staff and set targets for their performance. However, these are not focused sufficiently on how staff can improve the quality of their teaching so that it is consistently good.  Staff do not always gather information about children's achievements prior to them starting at the setting to help them get off to a good start. Parents are not always involved enough in their children's learning. They are not helped in understanding how they could support their child’s learning at home.  The organisation of daily routines sometimes means that children are left waiting around with nothing to do. For example, children wait for a considerable amount of time while staff prepare the outside area and get them ready to go out. During these times children become bored and restless.

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It has the following strengths

 Managers encourage staff to attend training to broaden their knowledge. Staff use the information they learn well to support the setting in moving forward. For example, staff use what they have learnt at behaviour management training to review the effectiveness of their practice.  Children settle well into the nursery. They are confident to move around the environment and are keen to explore and investigate the good range of resources.

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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

 improve the monitoring of teaching so that individual staff are provided with precise targets aimed at addressing weaknesses in the quality of teaching 13/02/2017

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Due Date

 improve the quality of teaching and ensure all staff provide good quality learning opportunities 13/02/2017

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Due Date

 improve the gathering of information from parents about their children’s achievements when they first start and work more closely with them to involve them in their children’s learning. 13/02/2017

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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

 review the organisation of the daily routines to make sure that children are not waiting for long periods with nothing to do.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector completed a joint observation with the registered individual and discussed the findings.  The inspector observed staff and children in the playroom and the outside area and spoke to them at appropriate times.  The inspector spoke to parents to gain their views.  The inspector sampled documentation such as children's learning records, staff files and policies and procedures.  The inspector held a meeting with the registered individual.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

Safeguarding is effective. Staff have a good understanding of child protection and effective procedures to follow in the event of a concern. Managers implement some methods to monitor staff performance through observations and monthly meetings. However, because managers do not focus discussions sufficiently on how staff can improve their teaching, weaknesses remain. Staff build positive relationships with parents. They informally share information at drop off and pick up times. However, they are not gathering sufficient information when children first start to enable them to plan for each child from the outset. The methods to share children's ongoing progress and involve parents in this is inconsistent. For example, some parents are not helped to understand how they can support their children's progress at home.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

The quality of teaching is too variable. At times, staff engage well with the children and involve them effectively in activities. For example, children help the staff to make dough. They learn how to measure ingredients and they talk about how the dough changes as they add the different ingredients. At other times teaching is less effective and does not help children to learn and progress. For example, staff are not sufficiently organised for a planned outdoor activity. Children lose interest and their learning is disrupted because the activity lacks challenge and fails to engage and motivate them. Staff share information with other early years providers that children attend to gain a consistent approach to their learning.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

Children build good relationships with staff who are warm and nurturing in their approach. Staff provide a good range of resources which encourage children to develop their own ideas. Children are keen to investigate. For example, they spend considerable time investigating the properties of water using a range of different objects. However, when children are leading their own play staff do not support them sufficiently. Too often they do not interact with them to develop their learning, for example, by helping to help them understand how things work and how to solve problems for themselves. Children learn how to keep themselves safe. Staff give good explanations to help them understand why they must comply with the nursery rules and provide suitable resources such as a low- level handrail to enable children to use the stairs safely.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

Children make steady progress in their learning. However, weaknesses in teaching mean they are not supported to make good progress. Nevertheless, children are learning some of the skills they need for school. They show high levels of independence and confidence and are keen to share what they know. For example, children spend considerable time mixing water and food colouring, concentrating well and showing control as they pour using different size containers.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY486763 Local authority Wiltshire Inspection number 1044041 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 40 Number of children on roll 5 Name of provider Young'Uns Childcare Limited Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 01985 220295

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Setting details

Little Alligators Nursery is privately owned and was registered in 2015. It is based in the centre of Warminster. The nursery operates from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday all year round. The nursery is in receipt of funding for children aged two-, three- and four- years-old. A team of four staff work with the children, of these three are qualified in early years to level 3.

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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

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Setting details

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Setting details

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Setting details

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