Croft Day Nursery

Croft Day Nursery The Croft Nursery School, The Croft, 102 Lancaster Road, NEWCASTLE, Staffordshire, ST5 1DS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 8 December 2017 28 August 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 quality of teaching is consistently good and on occasions, when the resources and teaching is of a very high quality, children show exceptional levels of involvement.  Staff provide good one-to-one attention to those children who need it most to help close gaps in their learning. For example, children who speak English as an additional language and children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive effective support.  Staff develop strong partnerships with parents from the very start to get to know them and their children. They work closely with parents to find out what additional support their children will benefit from and keep parents up to date about their children's progress.  Promoting children's personal, social and emotional development is given a clear priority. Staff build close relationships with children, offer good reassurance and encourage them to explore.  Staff provide plenty of enjoyable opportunities for children to be physically active and

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This provision is good

they teach children well about the benefits of being healthy.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Systems to monitor children's progress are not always meticulous, particularly to help staff further use this information to plan highly challenging activities so that children make consistently high rates of progress.  Staff do not consistently offer a rich range of activities to inspire the children's learning even further in early mathematics.

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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

 build even further on the systems in place for monitoring children's progress and providing highly challenging activities, to help children make the very best possible progress  provide a rich range of activities to capture the children's interest and raise their achievement even further in mathematics.

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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 carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector held a meeting with the manager. She looked at relevant documentation and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the manager.  The inspector spoke with staff and children at the manager during the inspection.  The inspector spoke to parents during the inspection and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

The strong and experienced leadership team offers good support and direction to the new manager. There are robust systems in place to ensure staff benefit from regular supervisory sessions and additional training so they have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and they are enthusiastic about the children's learning. There are clear action plans in place to help develop the service even further and this vision for further improvement is shared by the whole staff team. Arrangements for safeguarding are effective. There are robust systems in place to ensure staff are suitably vetted and inducted, and all staff have a good knowledge of child protection issues. There are good strategies in place to encourage parents to support their children's learning. For example, the homework bags, which include a book and story props for parents to share with their children, are popular.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

All staff plan well around children's interests and what they enjoy most. On occasions, teaching in the pre-school room and in the Peter Rabbit room is outstanding. For example, staff in the pre-school room skilfully encourage children to talk about the soft-toy elf who has overnight moved around the room and been 'mischievous'. On the occasions, when teaching is inspirational, staff plan very creatively for children's learning and have a clear and very precise learning outcome. For example, staff take the time to reinforce learning at the children's pace. Staff provide a range of first-hand experiences to motivate children to learn. For example, children closely observe how things change and learn to care for the duck eggs in the incubator as they hatch. Staff provide regular opportunities for children to learn about the natural world. For example, children care for vegetables and herbs in the garden, and learn about the changing seasons.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Healthy eating is given a high priority. For example, all the meals on the menu are analysed for sugar, salt and fat content to ensure they are healthy and balanced. Children benefit from regular dance-and-movement activities, and the opportunity to be physical outdoors daily. In addition to this, the pre-school children have a weekly physical education session to help prepare them for school. Staff teach children about road and fire safety, and they learn how to use the equipment and resources safely. Staff in the baby room know the individual children well, are sensitive to their needs and offer good support to help them explore and discover.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children make good progress from their starting points and are well prepared for school. On occasions, even the youngest children show excellent levels of interest. For example, children show a real sense of belonging and thoroughly enjoy whole-group sessions. Children enjoy communicating, including those who speak English as an additional language. Children show a fondness for making marks in a variety of ways. The most-able children can recognise their own and others names in the group. Children count and match as they play and learn to recognise colours and how they change.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 218503 Local authority Staffordshire Inspection number 1103198 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 54 Number of children on roll 67 Name of registered person Croft Nursery School Limited

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 28 August 2014 Telephone number 01782 614247

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reference number

Croft Day Nursery registered in 1990. It operates from Newcastle-under-Lyme, in Staffordshire. The nursery opens five days a week from 7am until 6pm all year round, except for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The nursery employs 11 members of staff. Of these, one holds an appropriate early years qualification at level 5, nine hold a qualification at level 3 and one holds a qualification at level 2.

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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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