The Old Station Nursery - Pershore

Inspection of Polkadot Childcare Coventry House, Station Road, PERSHORE, Worcestershire WR10 2DB

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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 Inadequate

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The provision is good

Children arrive happy and settle quickly at this warm and welcoming nursery. They build strong bonds with the kind and gentle staff, which helps them to feel safe and secure. Children develop good independence skills. Babies learn to feed themselves and choose their own play. Older children learn to manage their own self-care needs. They use the toilet themselves and can put on their coats. Children are happy to help with small tasks, such as tidying away toys before lunch. Children behave well and demonstrate high levels of self-esteem. They show pride as they talk about the candle holder they make as they learn about the Hindu festival of Diwali.

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The provision is good

Babies have plenty of opportunities to develop their curiosity and investigative skills as they explore the well-resourced environment. They smile broadly as they discover they can make a variety of sounds as they shake a set of measuring cups and bang a metal whisk onto different vessels. Babies manipulate dough using their fingers. This helps them to develop their small muscles. As they play, staff introduce new words, such as 'poke', 'squeeze', 'pull' and 'pat'. Children who prefer to learn outdoors enjoy the wide range of resources and activities that staff provide. Overall, staff prepare children well for their next stage of learning, including their move on to school.

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need to do better?

n The manager has made significant improvements since the last inspection and has addressed the action raised. Staff and managers have made effective changes to the pre-school environment and introduced procedures to ensure that staff supervise children appropriately and know where children are at all times. n The manager has high expectations for all children in her care. She has devised a well-sequenced curriculum that covers all areas of learning. Staff are fully aware of the intent for the curriculum and implement it well. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well. They offer effective small-group sessions and one-to-one support. n The manager monitors the curriculum and children's learning effectively. Where she identifies gaps in children's learning, she acts swiftly to provide the support children need to help them to catch up with their peers. n The manager includes staff, parents and children in her evaluation of the

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need to do better?

nursery to help her identify areas for improvement. She provides staff with regular supervision meetings to support them to fulfil their roles. However, she does not always focus precisely on staff training needs, to further enhance the teaching of the curriculum. n Staff organise the learning environment well to enable children to access toys

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need to do better?

25 October 2022 and resources independently. Staff make regular observations and assessments of children's learning. They use this information to plan activities and experiences that are stimulating and challenging and match children's current interests and learning needs. n Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. Children behave well and play cooperatively with their friends. Children are polite, friendly and use good manners. n Staff promote children's language development well. They engage children in frequent conversations and discussions. They model language clearly and introduce new words to children. Babies are keen to join in the singing sessions. They enthusiastically bounce, sway and babble as staff sing their favourite nursery rhymes. Older babies laugh as they confidently copy the actions to the songs. n Staff promote children's early literacy skills, and children develop a love of

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need to do better?

books. Staff read stories with enthusiasm and good intonation. They ask questions about the story to encourage the children to use their thinking skills. Children select their favourite books and have great fun with staff, who encourage them to use the books and props to tell their own version of the story. Children learn to recognise and write letters in their name. n Throughout the nursery, staff promote mathematics well. For example, during water play, children learn to count as they move teabags from one vessel to another. They learn about capacity as they empty and fill containers. n Parents speak very highly of the nursery. They say that their children look forward to attending. However, staff do not consistently support parents to build on their children's learning at home. They do not provide enough opportunities for parents to be part of the ongoing assessments of their children's learning.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The manager and staff have a strong knowledge of safeguarding and the possible signs and symptoms of abuse. They know when and where to refer any concerns they may have about a child in their care or the conduct of another member of staff. Staff are deployed effectively to ensure children are supervised at all times. Staff carry out daily checks to make sure the premises are safe for children to play in. There are robust recruitment procedures in place to help to deem staff suitable to work with children.

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should:

n build further on professional development opportunities for staff, to help to raise the quality of teaching and learning to the highest level

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should:

25 October 2022 n support staff to develop further ways to encourage and link children's learning between the nursery and home.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2531684 Local authority Worcestershire Inspection number 10247524 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 90 Number of children on roll 58 Name of registered person Polkadot Day Nurseries Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 07813898939 Date of previous inspection 31 May 2022

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Information about this early years setting

Polkadot Childcare registered in 2019. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It employs 12 members of childcare staff. Of these, nine hold a relevant early years qualification at level 2 to level 6, including one who holds qualified teacher status and another who holds early years professional status.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector discussed any continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n The manager led the inspector on a learning walk and told her what they wanted the children to learn at the nursery. The manager and the inspector carried out a joint evaluation of an activity together. n The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities and assessed the impact this has on children's learning. n The inspector held discussions with the manager and staff throughout the inspection. She looked at relevant documentation, including qualifications, and viewed evidence of the suitability of those working with children. n The inspector spoke to parents during the inspection and took account of their views. The inspector spoke to children throughout the inspection too.

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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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