St Richard's School Nursery Unit

Inspection of St Richard's School Nursery Unit Cawley Road, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 1XB

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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The provision is good

The passionate manager and staff work hard to create an inclusive environment for all children and families. They have a very caring approach and create a particularly warm, positive and nurturing atmosphere. All children are happy and show how safe and secure they feel as they explore the nursery with confidence. There is a strong focus on language development and staff successfully support children who speak English as an additional language to catch up with their communication skills. Staff consistently speak clearly, encourage plenty of engaging conversation and model new words. Subsequently, children express themselves confidently and use their increasing language skills to make friendships and develop their play.

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The provision is good

The curriculum is broad and closely linked to children's interests and development. There is a particular focus on outdoor play, particularly in all weather conditions, to help children receive a rich set of experiences. Children delight in exploring the adventurous, wild and stimulating nursery garden. They discover and investigate, as well as developing good physical skills, coordination, balance and strength. Staff have high expectations for what children can achieve and children are highly motivated in their play and learning. They consistently show perseverance and a 'can-do' attitude. All children quickly gain the skills needed for the next stage in their learning and for school.

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need to do better?

n The highly experienced and qualified manager and staff have worked hard to bring about improvements and raise standards since the last inspection. Vetting procedures for all staff and committee members are now robust and there is clear organisation in the nursery. The manager gives staff plenty of support in their roles and offers good guidance, coaching and further training for their professional development. Recent training has focused on children's pronunciation and staff are introducing new games and ideas to support children who find this difficult. Staff have also introduced new 'core books', which they successfully use to develop children's understanding of rhyme, rhythm and repetition. n Staff know the children very well. They precisely assess children's development, monitor their progress and plan for their most important next steps in learning. Staff skilfully link this knowledge with children's current interests and create a

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need to do better?

diverse and stimulating learning environment. For example, during the inspection, children enjoyed creating spiders out of dough, hunting for buried treasure in sand and building their own obstacle courses. Staff use their interactions to follow children's lead and help them to explore and develop their own ideas in play. For instance, children excitedly used tape to make bridges between a toy car park and a table, carefully pushing cars along the 'bridge'.

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need to do better?

18 November 2019 However, occasionally some staff step in too quickly to offer suggestions and help children work things out. This does not fully support their problem-solving skills. n Staff are strong role models and sensitively guide and support children's good behaviour. Children learn to listen to each other, share the toys and treat others with kindness. They are very sociable and build trusting bonds with their friends and all staff. This helps children to develop a strong sense of self-esteem, belonging and confidence in their own abilities. For example, children proudly celebrate their achievements, taking photographs of their finished dough spiders, drawings and paintings. n Staff use songs successfully to support children's learning through fun games and activities. For example, children excitedly develop their bodily movements as they join in with physical circle games and action songs. They enjoy learning

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need to do better?

songs in the diverse range of home languages of the children and celebrate their different cultures. Children are knowledgeable and respectful of what makes them different and the same as their friends. n The manager and staff give children a rich set of experiences to support their good all-round development and ignite their wonder of the world around them. Throughout the year, children grow and tend to plants and vegetables, observe the life cycle of frogs in the garden pond and explore the changes of season. Children are inquisitive learners and understand how to manage some risks safely. Older children very carefully walk along balance beams independently, whereas younger children ask to hold staff's hands for extra support. However, staff have not focused enough on how to support children's understanding of potential risks when using the internet. There is room to offer children and parents more guidance and support.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Children's safety is at the heart of the nursery. The manager fully understands the importance of keeping children safe and ensures she is in line with local safeguarding procedures. All staff have a thorough knowledge of the signs and symptoms that may indicate a child is at risk of harm. They know who to contact if there are any concerns about a child's welfare. The manager ensures that herself and all staff keep their training up to date. This includes wider safeguarding issues, such as how to identify children at risk of extreme views.

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should:

n make the most of all staff interactions with children to offer further challenge where appropriate and extend children's problem-solving skills fully

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should:

18 November 2019 n focus more on how to teach children to identify and manage the potential risks when using the internet.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 113733 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 10109091 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 2 to 4 Total number of places 28 Number of children on roll 39 Name of registered person St Richard''s School Nursery Unit Committee

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reference number

Telephone number 01243 776728 Date of previous inspection 10 May 2019

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Information about this early years setting

St Richard's School Nursery Unit registered in 1997. The nursery operates from a purpose-built building in the grounds of St Richard's Primary School and is situated in a residential area of Chichester, West Sussex. The nursery receives funding for early education for children aged two, three and four years. It opens from Monday to Friday during term time only, from 8.30am to 3.15pm. The nursery employs seven members of staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications between qualified teacher status and level 3.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector was given a tour of the nursery by the manager and carried out a learning walk to discuss the curriculum. n The manager and the inspector discussed the play activities and children's learning during the inspection and undertook a joint observation of an activity. n The views and opinions of the children, staff and parents were taken into account during the inspection. n The inspector observed children's play and assessed the impact of staff teaching. n The inspector read some of the setting's documentation, including the evidence of suitability checks for staff and committee members.

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Inspection activities

We carried out this inspection 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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Inspection activities

18 November 2019 regulates and inspects to 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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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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