Second Steps Day Nursery

Second Steps Day Nursery Durham Road, Laindon, BASILDON, Essex SS15 6PH

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Inspection date 22 February 2019 Previous inspection date 8 December 2015

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Good 2 Effectiveness of leadership and management Good 2 Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 2 Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good 2 Outcomes for children Good 2

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This provision is good

n Babies and children settle well and are happy and content in the staff's nurturing care. They form close attachments to key staff, which helps them to feel safe. n Staff enable children to make independent choices in their play and learning. Children lead their own play guided by staff who understand their learning needs well. Staff encourage children to make their own decisions and use skilful questioning techniques to encourage their creative thinking. n Staff keep parents well informed of their children's progress and form close working partnerships with them. Parents are pleased with the care their children receive and say that staff are friendly and approachable. n Staff understand children's individual needs well. They are swift to recognise any delays in children's development. They seek the help of external professionals where necessary, to ensure that all children receive the support they need to help them make

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This provision is good

progress. n All children make good progress from their starting points. Staff provide a good range of interesting and enjoyable activities that stimulate children's imagination and curiosity. n Leaders and managers evaluate staff practice and the activities they provide for the children. Staff observe each other's practice and give constructive feedback to help raise the standard of teaching across the nursery. n Staff sometimes miss opportunities to extend children's understanding and interest in numbers, colours, shapes and patterns. n The outdoor area is not always arranged well to meet the learning needs of children of all ages and stages of development.

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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

n maintain a stronger focus on mathematics and increase children's access to numbers, colours, shapes and patterns n plan to continue improvements to the outdoor area to ensure it meets the learning needs of children of all ages and stages of development.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

Inspection activities n The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact this has on children's learning. n The inspector held a meeting with the manager and deputy manager and spoke to staff and children. n The inspector took account of the views of parents by speaking with some of them during the inspection. n The inspector looked at relevant documentation, such as the suitability and qualifications of staff, children's developmental records, and policies and procedures.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

Leadership of the nursery is strong. Senior managers provide support, training and guidance to staff to ensure that children receive good-quality teaching. Staff receive ongoing training to support their professional development. Safeguarding is effective. Staff fully understand their responsibilities to protect the children in their care. They understand the procedures to follow if they have any concerns about a child's well-being and safety. Managers review policies regularly and ensure that all staff and parents are advised of any changes. Staff recruitment is robust and the suitability of staff is regularly checked. Staff discuss children's routines daily with parents and provide them with written feedback. They take account of the views of parents, children and other professionals when planning for improvements to the nursery.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff provide a good range of natural resources and items that children might see at home. This helps children to learn about life skills, such as cutting vegetables and stirring pots. They learn about space and the universe. They imagine they are astronauts with helmets as they build a rocket ship to go to the moon. Children enjoy sensory experiences, such as playing with ice. They watch how it melts and observe how it starts off big and gradually becomes smaller. Staff encourage children to explore and discover. They support them to work things out and solve problems by themselves. For example, children enjoy designing their own monsters. They find out how to cut out shapes to make spikes and teeth, and then decide where to stick them. Children have fun pretending to be chefs. They weigh vegetables and pretend to eat them with chopsticks, practising their small-muscle skills in readiness for early writing.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children learn a lot about food as they handle and smell different fruits and vegetables. They talk with staff about healthy eating and what they enjoy eating at home. Children are independent. They do things for themselves. Older children line up to collect their dinner and clear away afterwards, practising skills they will need at school. Younger children help to tidy away their toys and put things in the right places. Staff are loving and gentle when they care for babies. They encourage babies' babbling and sing to them, supporting language development. Babies explore treasure baskets and learn how some things are hard and some are soft. Staff understand they are teething and make sure objects are clean and safe to put in their mouths. Children learn to take turns and share. Staff set consistent boundaries for children's behaviour, which helps them to feel secure. Children develop good relationships and friendships.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children enjoy looking at books and finding out how written words have meaning. They find out about people who live in other countries and they learn to respect other cultures and traditions. Children develop good physical agility when they exercise their bodies. They pretend to be trees swaying in the breeze and see how high they can stretch. Older children learn the sounds of letters and how to hold a pencil for drawing and writing.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY308855 Local authority Essex Inspection number 10062952 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Day care type Full day care Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 106 Number of children on roll 109 Name of registered person Second Steps Day Nursery Limited

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 8 December 2015 Telephone number 01268 410937

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reference number

Second Steps Day Nursery registered in 2005. The nursery employs 23 members of childcare staff, 14 of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above. The nursery opens all year round from 7am until 7pm, Monday to Friday, except for bank holidays. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The nursery also provides an out-of-school provision.

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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.ofsted.gov.uk . 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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, 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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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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