Apples & Pears Private Day Nursery

Inspection of Apples & Pears Private Day Nursery Pear Tree Farm, Back Lane, Smallwood, Sandbach, Cheshire CW11 2UN

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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 Not applicable

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The provision is good

Children enter the nursery happily and settle well. Staff support children to develop independence and help them to learn how to work with others. They encourage older children to support younger children and those new to their room. This helps to create a welcoming environment. Easily accessible outdoor spaces enable children to choose whether to play and learn indoors or outdoors.

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The provision is good

Children enjoy a range of songs, rhymes and stories throughout the day, which helps them to develop good language and literacy skills. Generally, staff ensure that conversations are meaningful, which helps children to develop their spoken language. Children practise taking turns, and they listen when others are speaking during group times. Children are keen to interact with visitors, which demonstrates their confidence and self-esteem. They are well prepared emotionally, demonstrating essential skills to move up from the baby room, through each age group in the nursery and on to school. The nursery's curriculum is well structured. Staff follow plans that clearly identify the knowledge children will learn and in what order. They check regularly what children know, understand and can do. They use this information well to decide what children need to learn next. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those in receipt

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The provision is good

of additional funding, make good progress.

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need to do better?

n Leaders reflect on the quality of practice. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, in response to the difficulty of recruiting experienced staff, they have appointed additional management staff. Their extended management team coaches and mentors newly appointed staff effectively. Managers have a clear view of the nursery's strengths and are working through plans to build further on their good practice. n Staff induction is thorough and includes essential training, such as in paediatric first aid and safeguarding. There is a clear system of ongoing supervision in place, including peer-to-peer observations, which is helping the management team to prioritise further training for staff. n Children develop a keen interest in reading. They choose to look at books and listen to many stories read well by staff. Story time is an enjoyable experience. During the inspection, children played imaginatively with props purposefully

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need to do better?

made by staff while listening to a well-known book 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea'. n Children are beginning to learn about equality, diversity and inclusion through books, planned activities and experiences. Parents share their knowledge, skills and talents with the children. For example, recently, the mother of one child talked to children about her job as a pilot. Experiences such as this provide

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need to do better?

30 August 2023 children with positive messages about gender. However, sometimes, children receive mixed messages about equality and gender when staff do not think carefully enough about the words they use in general conversations with children. n Partnership with parents is good. Parents exchange useful information about their children's welfare and learning with staff as they collect them, through electronic systems and during planned meetings. Staff work closely with parents and professionals from other agencies to identify children with SEND early. They adapt the provision well to meet children's specific needs. n Children behave well. They follow courteous rules, such as waiting for everyone to be served before starting to eat their food. They talk about the needs of others while raising money for national and local charities. n Children's physical health is well promoted in a range of ways. Children move

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need to do better?

body parts as they dance while listening to music. Outdoors, children run and show increasing balance as they ride on wheeled vehicles. They talk about the care of teeth during activities, such as brushing marks off pictures of laminated teeth. n Information about children's care needs, dietary requirements, preferences and allergies are obtained from parents before children start and kept under review. Staff follow clear procedures to ensure that children's care and dietary needs are met. n A range of opportunities to develop early writing skills are sequenced well as children move from the baby room and through each age group. Children run fingers through a range of sensory materials, including flour and oats; they use chalk on easily accessible low-level boards, and they draw with crayons and felt pens on paper.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff follow clear safeguarding procedures. They receive regular training and know how to identify children who may be at risk of potential harm. The systems for reporting concerns are clear. Accident records are regularly reviewed to identify any causes and, where necessary, action is taken to prevent a reoccurrence. Staff keep the premises clean, safe and secure, indoors and outdoors. Children learn about safety and the role of the emergency services from interesting visitors. For example, children recently enjoyed dressing in the kit, sitting on the engine and spraying the hose when four firefighters visited with their engine.

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should:

n embed and build on the link between observation of practice and the support,

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should:

30 August 2023 coaching and training provided to improve staff's knowledge and skills n deepen staff's understanding of how to carefully construct dialogue to avoid gender stereotyping, promote equality and prepare children for life in modern Britain.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2714677 Local authority Cheshire East Inspection number 10300708 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 115 Number of children on roll 235

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Name of registered person

Apples & Pears Private Day Nursery Partnership

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reference number

Telephone number 01477 500253 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Apples & Pears Private Day Nursery registered in 2022. The nursery employs 38 members of childcare staff. Of these, 13 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2, 11 at level 3, one at level 5 and three at level 6. Of these, two staff have early years professional status. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6.30pm, all year round. 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 manager and the inspector completed a learning walk together. n A joint observation was carried out by the inspector and a member of the management team. n The inspector held discussions with staff, children and parents at appropriate times during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspector looked at a sample of the nursery's documents. This included evidence about staff suitability and training.

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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

30 August 2023 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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