Hester Way Children Centre Nursery

Inspection of Hester Way Children Centre Nursery Hester Way Children Centre, Dill Avenue, Cheltenham GL51 0ES

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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 Outstanding

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The provision is good

Children receive attentive support from the nurturing staff. They benefit from a strong key-person system and staff warmly greet them when they arrive. This helps children to feel safe, secure and ready to learn. Children benefit from a broad curriculum which is tailored to their interests. Staff skilfully incorporate areas of learning into children's play, such as mathematics. For example, staff encourage children to count and talk about the size of the boats and the weight of the sand they play with. Children behave very well. They form positive relationships with the role model staff and their peers. They help staff with tasks, such as sweeping up sand, and show consideration to their friends.

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The provision is good

All children progress well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those in receipt of additional funding. This is because staff have high expectations of them all. They provide timely support to children who encounter difficulties and allocate funding effectively. This helps to promote good outcomes for all children, ready for their next stage in learning, including school. Partnerships with parents are strong. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, parents no longer enter the building. Nonetheless, parents say staff keep them well informed about their child's progress and communication is good. Staff take time to speak with parents daily. They use an electronic application to share information about children.

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need to do better?

n Support for children with SEND is a strength of the setting. Staff work closely with parents and outside professionals to put targeted plans in place. Staff use effective strategies to help children understand daily routines and expectations. These include pictures and objects of reference. Children receive high levels of attention as staff work hard to support them all to reach their highest potential. Therefore, children with SEND make very good progress from their individual starting points. n Staff promote children's communication and language skills very well. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, staff noticed that some children needed extra support in this area. In response to this, staff have introduced activities such as 'Time to Talk' and 'Chatty Mondays'. These provide children with even more opportunities to build and develop their language skills. It also helps to reduce any gaps in their progress.

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need to do better?

n Staff support children's learning well and, overall, teaching is good. Staff narrate children's play alongside them to clarify and give meaning. They warmly praise and encourage children by using comments such as 'keep trying!', which motivates them further. Staff have opportunities to meet with the manager to discuss their performance. However, the manager has not identified and

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need to do better?

27 April 2022 addressed some minor weaknesses in staff's practice. n Staff help children to adopt healthy lifestyles. They provide healthy snacks and introduce new fruits for children to try. Children have ample opportunity for fresh air and develop their physical skills on the climbing equipment. Fresh drinking water is always available for children to ensure they stay hydrated throughout the day. Staff have worked hard to promote and improve children's oral hygiene routines. They work with parents to encourage children to learn about the importance of tooth care. Staff provide fun teeth cleaning activities to do in the setting and at home. This has had a positive impact on children's ongoing good oral health. n Overall, children benefit from and enjoy learning together as a whole group. They listen to their favourite stories read by staff and staff encourage them to take turns choosing songs to sing. However, some children, including those that

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need to do better?

are younger, struggle to maintain attention at these times. They sometimes lose focus, become restless or walk away. This can cause disruption which reduces children's engagement and learning. n Staff help children to learn about similarities and differences between themselves and others. For instance, children explore and talk about different hair and eye colour when taking part in a 'This is Me' creative activity. Staff support and encourage children to use and learn words from their own and others' home language. This helps them to learn about being part of a diverse community and to celebrate what makes them unique.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff are fully aware of their roles and responsibilities to protect children in their care from harm. Managers and staff undertake regular safeguarding training to help them recognise the signs and symptoms of when a child may be at risk. Staff know the reporting procedures to follow if they become concerned about the welfare of a child, or the conduct of a colleague. Staff take time to get to know children and their families very well which helps them to identify any concerns quickly and support families to access early help. The premises are secure and cannot be accessed by unauthorised visitors.

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should:

n strengthen the monitoring of staff's practice to precisely identify minor weaknesses and raise the quality of teaching to a consistently high level n review the planning and organisation of whole group time activities, considering the needs and abilities of all children within the group, so that all are equally engaged, and their learning is maximised.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY474920 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 10124363 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

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inspection

Total number of places 64 Number of children on roll 57 Name of registered person Aspire Foundation

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reference number

Telephone number 01242222490 Date of previous inspection 10 March 2016

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Information about this early years setting

Hester Way Children Centre Nursery registered in 2014. The setting is open from 8.30am to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday during term time. It employs seven members of staff. Of these, the majority hold relevant qualifications at level 3. The setting is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early years education for children aged two, three and four years.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the setting received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n The inspector spoke to parents and took their views into consideration. n The inspector and manager carried out a joint observation of staff's practice, and evaluated it together. n Discussions were held between the manager and inspector to evaluate the leadership and management of the setting. n The manager led the inspector on a learning walk and discussed how the setting delivers the curriculum.

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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

27 April 2022 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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