Step By Step Children's Nursery

Step By Step Children's Nursery St Elisabeths Church, 268 Victoria Drive, Eastbourne BN20 8QX

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Inspection date 3 April 2019 Previous inspection date Not applicable

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Not applicable 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 The manager and staff are well qualified, caring and positive. They take the time to get to know children well and build trusting bonds with them. Children enjoy their time spent at the nursery very much and enthusiastically engage in a wide variety of experiences. They are well-settled, secure and confident in their own abilities. n There are strong partnerships in place with professionals to help meet the needs of the children. The manager and staff work closely with local speech therapists to share expertise and support children with language delay. All children, including those with special educational needs, make good progress from their starting points. n Staff work closely with parents and keep them fully informed about their children's development. They regularly share detailed summaries of what children experience at nursery and how parents can support this further at home. n Staff support children's communication skills successfully. They encourage plenty of

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This provision is good

conversation with older children, showing a genuine interest in their lives and recent experiences. Staff working with babies, commentate on their actions consistently and speak clearly to support their good early language development. n Although the manager supports staff development well, she does not monitor practice rigorously enough to identify precisely how to raise the quality to the highest level. n The manager does not closely monitor the progress that specific groups of children make in their learning to help raise children's outcomes even further.

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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 develop the monitoring of staff performance further to help identify precisely how each staff member can raise their practice to the highest level n monitor the progress children make more closely to help support specific groups of children further and achieve outstanding developmental outcomes.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

Inspection activities n The inspector observed teaching practices and the impact on children's learning both inside and outdoors. n The inspector held discussions with the manager, staff and children and explored the views of parents. n The inspector read some of the nursery's documentation, including the safeguarding policy and procedures. n The inspector sampled children's development information and records. n The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager and held discussions in relation to children's learning and progress.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

The ambitious manager works well with her staff to regularly evaluate the learning environments, planning and quality of resources. They have recently developed the garden and introduced exciting new opportunities for outdoor exploration, such as a well-resourced mud kitchen. Overall, the manager supports her staff effectively to develop their skills, and staff benefit from good support, coaching and training. After recent training, staff have introduced healthy cooking activities for children to enjoy in the setting and at home, supporting children's and their parents' understanding of healthy diets. Safeguarding is effective. Staff receive thorough child protection training and are up to date with current legislation. They confidently know how to recognise signs of abuse and report any child protection concerns.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff assess children's development closely and know what children enjoy. They plan a varied and stimulating environment that motivates and challenges children well. Staff successfully extend children's learning and support their good early literacy skills. For example, as children act out storylines with toy pirates, staff encourage them to draw their own treasure maps. Children excitedly draw the letter 'x' on their maps and show strong early writing skills. Staff support younger children to explore a wide variety of sensory and creative activities. Babies excitedly feel the texture of bubble wrap and copy the 'popping' sound as they squash the bubbles. Staff support their exploration well.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Staff promote children's understanding of healthy lifestyles well and children enjoy freshly cooked, nutritious meals. They exercise regularly in the well-resourced garden and develop good balance and coordination as they explore challenging balance beams and climbing equipment. Children behave well and are considerate of others. They are very sociable and work together happily, for example when building sandcastles and tall towers with blocks. Children develop strong self-esteem and proudly show off their achievements, for instance when celebrating finished paintings and drawings. They are confident, independent and manage their personal care with ease.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children of all ages enthusiastically make choices in their learning and engage well. Babies move freely and confidently. They excitedly play with older children, watching and copying their actions. Older children are very imaginative and creative. They excitedly make pretend meals, such as a 'roast dinner', thoughtfully mixing grass and mud to use from the garden. Children communicate well and use speech to guide their play and develop their ideas. They count and recognise shapes confidently as they play and quickly learn the skills needed for the next stage in their learning and school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY540584 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 10089567 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 - 4 Total number of places 25 Number of children on roll 56 Name of registered person Wilkinson, Rebecca Louise

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reference number

Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 01323 430667

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reference number

Step By Step Children's Nursery registered in 2016. There are six members of staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications between level 3 and qualified teacher status. The nursery opens five days a week, from 8am to 6pm, for 51 weeks of the year. It receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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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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