Chestnut Grove Kindergarten

Inspection of Chestnut Grove Kindergarten 5 Pathfields Road, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex CO15 3JH

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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 Good

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The provision is good

The manager and provider have a clear understanding about how to support children's communication skills. Staff teach children new signs, such as 'please', 'thank you' and 'finished', and these are shared with parents to enable children's needs to be understood consistently. Staff are seen introducing new words to children, such as 'squeeze' and 'sprinkle'. Older children are encouraged to make vocal requests to develop their speech and language further.

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The provision is good

Children's personal, social and emotional development is well supported by staff. They use persona dolls to allow children to look at different family circumstances. Staff use these dolls to support children with learning how to express themselves and discuss any worries or concerns they may have, particularly when experiencing any changes at home. This has enabled children to understand how they are feeling and seek support. Staff have created strong bonds with children, who actively seek interaction and laugh when playing games together, such as hide and seek.

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The provision is good

The manager and provider have a strong understanding of the community needs and how to support the families. They support home learning through providing activity ideas and resources such as play dough and cress seeds. The manager and provider actively engage with parents through workshops. For example, they invite parents to observe staff interactions with children so that they can support interactions at home, to further extend children's experiences.

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need to do better?

n Children are provided with warm interactions from staff. Staff tickle and provide praise and encouragement, which results in children laughing and smiling, having a positive experience. They often seek more interaction with staff, showing they have created strong bonds. n Children in the pre-school room play collaboratively together. They are heard asking each other, 'Will you play with me?' Children share and take turns with each other. Children are highly engaged with the resources they have on offer and use their imagination to create new role-play scenarios. n Staff are aware of children's needs and know the children well. They make good progress and work together with parents to discuss progress and next steps. n Parents speak highly of the staff. They feel very supported by staff and receive regular feedback about what their child is learning and what they will be focusing on to support development further. Parents comment on how well their

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need to do better?

children have progressed, particularly in speech and language development, since starting the setting. n Children's fine motor skills are promoted throughout the setting through a range

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need to do better?

25 October 2022 of activities, such as play dough and threading. However, children in the baby room have too few opportunities to develop their climbing skills. n The children have a 'Travelling Ted', and they can take this teddy on any adventure they may take part in. Children take the teddy on holiday, and they bring some photos back to discuss with the other children where 'Travelling Ted' has been. This enables children to gain an understanding of the wider world and sparks conversation about differences in the world. n Recently, staff have taught children about the life cycles of some animals. For example, children watched caterpillars and frogs change over time. This became a real interest for children, and they were able to learn new language and enjoy new experiences. n Children learn about different cultures around the world. Together, they look at different cultures and celebrations and have currently been learning about Black

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need to do better?

History Month and Diwali. This has encouraged children to think about different cultures and how they are unique. n Two- to three-year-old children are encouraged to be independent. They pour their own drinks and pull up their sleeves ready to wash their hands. However, this development of independence is not consistently promoted across other rooms. n Staff comment on how they feel very well supported in the setting with regards to their well-being. They have a 'well-being champion', who staff can seek guidance and support from at any time. n There is a strong training programme in place to ensure all staff access training and are reflective of their practice. Staff practice is often observed to ensure teaching is to a high standard. Staff have recently attended speech and language training, which has had a positive impact on the teaching strategies used and outcomes for children.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The manager and provider have robust knowledge about how to keep children safe. They are very aware of the local risks, the signs and symptoms of these risks and the action to take if they have concerns. Management ensures staff are up to date with their knowledge about how to keep children safe in their care. They regularly discuss safeguarding scenarios as a team to develop their knowledge and confidence with dealing with different concerns. Staff have a good understanding of wider safeguarding concerns, such as county lines and cuckooing.

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should:

n provide more opportunities in the baby room to develop children's climbing skills

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should:

25 October 2022 n increase opportunities for children to develop their independence, particularly in the pre-school room.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY408264 Local authority Essex Inspection number 10233765 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 100 Number of children on roll 120 Name of registered person Chestnut Grove Kindergarten Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 01255 429 029 Date of previous inspection 16 March 2017

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Information about this early years setting

Chestnut Grove Kindergarten registered in 2010 and is one of three settings run by the same limited company. The nursery employs 22 members of childcare staff. Of these, one member of staff holds an appropriate early years qualification at level 6, 14 staff hold a qualification at level 3, and two staff hold a qualification at level 2. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, for 51 weeks of the year. Opening times are from 7.30am until 6pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the provider 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 nursery provider, manager and inspector completed a learning walk together to discuss the areas of learning, the curriculum and what they want children to learn, both inside and outside. n The inspector and nursery manager carried out a joint observation of children participating in an activity in the pre-school room with a member of staff. n The inspector observed children of all ages and spoke with children throughout the inspection. n The inspector spoke to parents of children that attend the setting and took into account their views of the setting. n The inspector looked at relevant documentation, including first-aid certificates and Disclosure and Barring Service numbers of the staff.

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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

25 October 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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