St. Aidan's Day Nursery

St. Aidan's Day Nursery Victoria Place, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA1 1LY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26 February 2018 18 October 2012

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Outstanding 1

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding 1

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding 1

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This provision is outstanding

 The nursery is expertly run and managed. The leadership team are highly qualified and have a wealth of experience between them. They demonstrate an exceptionally strong drive to maintain the outstanding practice in place. Evaluative practice is firmly embedded throughout the staff team and leads to targeted improvement planning.  The learning environments are carefully presented and provide children with an exciting and stimulating range of resources and learning experiences, rich in diversity, which greatly develops children's imaginations, curiosity and awareness of the wider world.  Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are provided with exceptional support. Staff work collaboratively with all involved, including healthcare professionals, and advice is accurately and swiftly threaded into individual plans.  Children develop wonderful relationships with their key person. Younger children find

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This provision is outstanding

deep comfort in cuddles and affection they receive as they grow tired and older children become self-assured and widely confident in their own abilities.  Children lead their own play and are entirely enabled to explore their ideas. Staff use their expert knowledge of the children to seize opportunities for learning in the moment as well as to plan activities to support and embed learning further. Children make excellent progress in all areas of learning.

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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

 continue to provide the already excellent level of challenge for children and maintain the high rate of progress already made.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching and the impact this has on children's learning, during play inside and outside.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the nursery manager.  The inspector spoke to members of staff and children at appropriate times during the inspection and held a meeting with the management team.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day of the inspection and other written comments.  The inspector looked at children's records, evidence of the suitability of staff and a range of other documentation. The inspector discussed the nursery's planning, policies and procedures and self-evaluation.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is outstanding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff have an excellent awareness of how to keep children safe from harm and ensure their welfare. The premises are secure and subject to regular and detailed risk assessment. Staff are highly alert to potential safeguarding concerns and fully understand the reporting procedure to follow. Ongoing scrutiny of children's progress helps to ensure emerging gaps in learning are immediately identified. The longstanding and highly qualified staff team are highly valued, work exceptionally well as a team and are provided with excellent support from the management team. Managers are focused on supporting staff to continue the excellent level of challenge they provide for children.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

Staff meticulously plan adult-led planned activities and use their extraordinary expertise to reach every area of learning. They respond swiftly and skilfully to children's ideas and contributions, seizing every opportunity to further embed children's learning. Staff use excellent tone of voice and facial expressions and show an abundance of enthusiasm, to wholly engage children in the activity. Children hunt for shapes around the outdoors and excitedly show staff what they have found. Staff asked superb questions, encouraging children to describe where they found their shapes promoting children's mathematical vocabulary as they use excellent positional language. Parents are entirely involved in their children's time at nursery and are widely supported by staff to contribute to assessments and continue learning at home.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

The nursery environment is extremely bright, wonderfully engaging and carefully presented by staff who give excellent consideration to the ongoing needs and interests of the children. Children have an abundance of opportunity to explore their environment, take risks and learn about safety. For example, they build and manoeuvre over obstacle courses and enjoy visits from the local police and fire service as part of the theme 'those who help us'. Children's good health is expertly embedded throughout practice. Children brush their teeth as part of the daily routine, have access to a wealth of health-related resources and engage in insightful activities around healthy choices, from a young age. Children's behaviour is exemplary. They show excellent listening skills from a very early age and cooperate wholly to the nursery routine.

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Outcomes for children are outstanding

Children make valuable contributions to discussions and confidently express their ideas. Babies show an extremely strong exploratory impulse as they explore with pasta, demonstrating excellent sensory skills as they notice changes to textures. Older children write for purposeful reasons inside and outdoors. This has been particularly beneficial for older boys, successfully engaging them in mark making outdoors, through staff's careful planning. Children are extremely well prepared in readiness for school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 501092 Local authority Cumbria Inspection number 1125057 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 0 - 4 Total number of places 43 Number of children on roll 95 Name of registered person St Aidan's Day Nursery Trustees

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 18 October 2012 Telephone number 01228 527483

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reference number

St. Aidan's Day Nursery first registered in 1990. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm, 51 weeks of the year. In total, 24 staff work at the nursery, all of whom hold relevant qualifications. The nursery receives funding to provide free 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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