The Ark Nursery

The Ark Nursery St Georges C of E Primary School, Kesteven Road, Stamford, PE9 1SX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25 April 2018 3 March 2014

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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 provider and manager are passionate about providing the highest-quality care and education they can. Excellent self-evaluation helps to drive the quality of the nursery forward and ensures they are continually making significant improvements.  Staff are highly qualified and this is reflected in the outstanding teaching. Children thoroughly enjoy the staff's enthusiastic, positive and supportive involvement in their play. Staff show a genuine interest in what children are doing and provide excellent support for children to develop their own ideas.  Staff place extremely high priority on developing children's self-esteem and self- confidence, emphasising their capabilities. For example, when children say, 'I can't do it', staff inspire them by adding, 'you can't do it yet, but if you try you will do it'. Furthermore, when children succeed, staff enthusiastically celebrate their success.  Partnerships with parents are highly effective. Staff use a range of creative methods to

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This provision is outstanding

help engage parents in their children's care and learning. Staff have developed exceptionally strong partnerships with the neighbouring school and other local schools. This results in children having a very positive transition into school when the time comes.  Through the rich, varied and exciting environment, staff provide challenge and promote learning, providing a strong base for children to manage risks and understand how to keep themselves safe and healthy. The highly effective use of the forest school provision enhances children's learning in the natural environment.

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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

 consider even more ways to enhance staff's professional development to maintain the already excellent quality of teaching and practice.

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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 spoke with staff and children during the inspection.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the nursery manager.  The inspector held meetings with the nursery manager and provider. She looked at relevant documentation and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery.  The inspector spoke with several parents and took account of written testimonials during the inspection.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is outstanding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Comprehensive safeguarding policies are implemented consistently by staff to keep children safe. Recruitment procedures for new staff are rigorous and staff are supported exceptionally well to become confident in their role. Staff keep their knowledge up to date and the manager is relentless in supporting and encouraging staff to extend their current qualifications to a higher level. The management team recognises the importance of continuing to enhance staff's skills and expertise even further. The manager targets additional funding highly effectively for individual children and this helps them to make the very best progress.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

Staff's knowledge about their individual key child's interests and next steps in learning is superb. They diligently observe and assess children's learning. Staff use this information to plan outstanding learning activities that encourage children's natural creativity and imagination. For example, children concentrate extremely well as they create puppets from a popular story. This activity is further reshaped by staff who later support children to make a puppet theatre to act out the story using their puppets, building on their early literacy skills. Staff use every opportunity to promote children's awareness of mathematics. When making dough bugs, staff encourage children to count the number of eyes on their bug and they talk about size and length, such as making it 'longer'.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

Children are extremely happy and content. They flourish in the care of the dedicated and caring staff, who form exceptionally secure emotional relationships with the children. During very minor disagreements, staff empower children to think about their actions, for instance, saying, 'your friend has asked you to stop, we need to listen to our friends'. This contributes to the impeccable behaviour of the children. Children relish practising their physical skills, balancing on planks and crates, climbing trees and jumping in muddy puddles. Children participate in a wealth of activities that helps them to learn about their own community and meet new people. For example, they enjoy singing sessions, yoga sessions, visits from the local vicar for collective worship and walks in the local town. The nursery provides healthy and nutritious meals which children thoroughly enjoy.

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Outcomes for children are outstanding

Children make rapid progress from their individual starting points, including those for whom the nursery receives extra funding and children who speak English as an additional language. Children expertly use their small-muscle skills, experimenting with different scissors to cut out media and material to make puppets, and they comment, 'are they supersonic scissors?'. Babies revel in new experiences, such as exploring and investigating cereals. They have big smiles as they watch staff sprinkle the cereal from a height. Pre- school children confidently write their names. Children demonstrate extremely high levels of motivation and eagerness to play and explore. The skills that children acquire equip them exceptionally well for their next stage of learning.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY469076 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 1102760 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 76 Number of children on roll 86 Name of registered person The Ark Day Nursery Partnership

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 3 March 2014 Telephone number 07527806136

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reference number

The Ark Nursery registered in 2007 and has been operating from a new purpose-built building since 2017 offering full day care to children aged 0-5 years. The nursery employs 18 members of childcare staff. Of these, one has early years professional status, one has qualified teacher status, two hold an early years qualification at level 6, one at level 5 and nine at level 3. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. The nursery provides funded 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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