The Oak Tree Neighbourhood Nursery

The Oak Tree Neighbourhood Nursery Old Medical Centre, Marlborough Road, Ilfracombe, Devon, EX34 8JL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24 May 2018 12 August 2015

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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 new manager and deputy provide inspirational role models for staff. They have a highly successful drive to keep developing their practice and know precisely where staff excel to ensure excellent outcomes for children. Teaching is highly effective and the staff work together extremely well through exemplary relationships.  Staff provide outstanding support for children's independence. For instance, older children help to set the table for babies and peel vegetables for lunch. They prepare their own snack, pour their drinks and wash up afterwards.  The excellent key-person system supports staff to know the children and their families extremely well. They have highly sensitive settling-in procedures and help children transition between rooms and on to school, according to their unique needs. This helps to promote continuity in children's learning exceptionally well.  The manager oversees the accurate and meticulous monitoring of children's

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This provision is outstanding

development. Along with the deputy, they ensure that children receive any additional support they need as quickly as possible so that they catch up very rapidly. All children make outstanding progress in their learning and development from their starting points.  Parents comment that the staff's highly successful behaviour management strategies help them to be as consistent at home. Children have exceptionally positive relationships, are sensitive to others' needs and value their similarities and differences.

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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

 monitor the impact of the changes to the outdoor area on children's learning.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities and the quality of teaching indoors and outdoors.  The inspector spoke with staff, children and parents and took account of the provider's improvement plans and parents' survey.  The inspector checked safeguarding information and the safety of the premises.  The inspector held a meeting with the operations manager and the nursery manager, and carried out a joint observation.  The inspector sampled documentation, including policies and procedures, children's development records and planning.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is outstanding

Safeguarding is effective. The manager and staff have a very thorough understanding of their responsibilities to keep children safe. They follow up concerns about children's absences and know whom to contact if children are at risk of harm. Through meticulous self-evaluation, the manager had observed that boys were not choosing to use the writing resources. Staff received training and implemented a wide range of highly creative ways to engage boys extremely successfully, indoors and outdoors. This has had a significant impact on children's improvement in their literacy development. The manager recognises that they can enhance children's learning outdoors even more.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

Staff use their thorough information gained from parents and their own observations to plan challenging activities that build extremely well on what the children can already do. They have high expectations of what the children can achieve. Their can-do attitude has a significant impact on children's perseverance, concentration and critical thinking. For instance, children considered different ways of opening their 'dinosaur egg'. Some made a hole and prised it open with their fingers or a stick, others used a wooden brick to smash it. Some young children watched and copied the older ones. They were so enthralled with discovering a toy dinosaur inside that they were eager to have another go, embedding their learning. Staff ask highly effective questions and give children all the time they need to respond. For example, children considered how they could mend a broken box, suggesting glue and even butter before agreeing tape would be the best thing. Staff help

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

children to become articulate speakers. For example, they role model words with actions for babies and engage all children with singing, rhyming and extending their vocabulary.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

Staff enthusiastically welcome children to the setting and listen to their excited comments with a genuine interest. Staff work very successfully with parents, gaining important information to meet babies' emotional and physical needs extremely well. Excellent resources inspire children to learn. For example, older children used a light table to look at x-rays and showed staff the bones they have in their hand. Staff skilfully support children in managing risks very effectively to enhance their development. For instance, older children considered the safest way to balance on a large cardboard tube and babies managed steps and a slide. Children have an exemplary awareness of keeping healthy. For example, young children knew to wash their hands after touching real ducklings and older children said to drink plenty of water as it is good for their kidneys.

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Outcomes for children are outstanding

Children develop outstanding skills that prepare them extremely well for their next stage of learning and school. They are highly motivated and exceptionally skilled, independent learners. Older children are very confident in their mathematical development. They order items by length and recognise numerals on a tape measure. Babies have highly enquiring minds. Children explore, making decisions and links with their previous experiences.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY279877 Local authority Devon Inspection number 1128975 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 1 - 4 Total number of places 36 Number of children on roll 74 Name of registered person Pre-School Learning Alliance

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 12 August 2015 Telephone number 01271 865334

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reference number

The Oak Tree Neighbourhood Nursery registered in 2004 and is managed by the Pre- School Learning Alliance (PLA). It is located near the centre of Ilfracombe in Devon. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm, for 51 weeks of the year. The nursery receives funding to provide free early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. There are nine members of staff employed to work with the children. The manager is qualified to level 3 in childcare and has higher level qualifications in leadership and management. One member of staff holds an early years qualification at level 5 and six hold a qualification at level 3.

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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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