The Meadows Day Care Centre

Inspection of The Meadows Day Care Centre Farriers Gate, New Road, Chatteris, Cambridgeshire PE16 6QP

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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

Children arrive happy and separate from parents with ease. Staff welcome children into their rooms and guide them to a variety of stimulating activities. Children settle at activities quickly. Staff carefully plan experiences based on children's interests and recent experiences. This helps to support children's engagement. For example, younger children enjoy exploring dough, that staff enhance with cake cases and various craft items. Children chat freely with staff about their recent birthdays as they recreate cakes for each other. Older children join sensory activities with enthusiasm and excitement. They combine materials and use tools skilfully. Children confidently demonstrate their creations and explain with detail to visitors how they work.

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The provision is good

Children demonstrate strong attachments to staff by approaching them to ask for support or to just be beside a familiar adult. Staff respond quickly to children's needs, providing support or reassurance. As a result, children feel safe and are confident to explore the setting. Daily access to the secure outside space is enjoyed by all children. They play with sand, soil and construct with planks to create a balancing obstacle course. Overall, children's behaviour is good. Staff support children with their emotional vocabulary and incorporate strategies to develop their understanding of turn taking. Children respond well to praise consistently provided by staff for sharing and showing kindness to each other.

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need to do better?

n Staff interact with children as they play. They introduce children to a wide range of vocabulary. For instance, staff chat with children as they explore collage materials. They repeat words such as 'soft', 'spiky' and 'shiny'. They have created a social environment where children are confident to share their thoughts and ideas. Staff ask purposeful questions that allow children to explain their understanding. They repeat sentences back to support children to hear the correct pronunciation of words. n Children enjoy listening to well-read stories. They listen intently and enthusiastically join in. Staff ask questions about the illustrations and events in the story to support children's engagement. This provides children with good opportunity to hear lots of words, which helps to support their future success as they move forward in their learning. n Staff understand the importance of early intervention and help for children with

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need to do better?

special educational needs and/or disabilities. They seek advice from other professionals and ensure strategies are in place to promote children's learning. Staff work well with families to ensure that all children get support in order for them to make good progress. n Children enjoy learning about mathematics. Staff use mathematical language

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need to do better?

13 December 2023 during activities, such as talking about quantity and volume while playing in water. Younger children talk about how many candles are in a cake and enjoy singing counting rhymes. n Mealtimes are planned to support children's independence. For instance, children self-serve from a choice of snack items, and manage to scoop, pour and spread. They collect their lunches and choose where to sit. This provides good opportunity for children to chat with their peers. However, at times, the environment can seem hectic and noisy. Not all children receive quality adult interaction and quickly lose interest in their lunch and leave the tables. Although staff set an activity for them to access, children are not engaged in any meaningful learning for some time while other children finish their lunch. This has an impact on their behaviour and disrupts the lunchtime period. n Parent partnerships are strong. Parents describe staff as friendly and caring.

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need to do better?

They are kept well informed of their children's progress. Parents say they feel supported and staff keep them informed with regular updates, daily feedback and a parent newsletter. n The manager values her staff team. She holds weekly meetings with senior staff members to reflect on practice and discuss the provision. Staff work well together, and state they feel supported by the management team. They have regular opportunity to access training and extend their professional development. However, the manager has not sought further ways to help all staff develop a deeper knowledge of teaching and learning.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The management committee understands its roles and responsibilities in relation to supporting and managing the setting. The manager and staff have a secure understanding of how to safeguard children. They regularly complete child protection training. Staff are familiar with the safeguarding policies and procedures and identify those with lead responsibilities. Staff confidently explain the procedures to follow to raise concerns they may have about a child. Regular risk assessments are carried out to help ensure the equipment and environment used by the children remains suitable. The manager ensures staff are deployed effectively throughout the day to maintain children's safety.

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should:

n review the organisation of mealtimes so that children are calmer and engaged in learning during these times n build on the already good practice and seek further ways to help all staff develop first-rate teaching skills.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 221911 Local authority Cambridgeshire Inspection number 10316868 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 44 Number of children on roll 42 Name of registered person The Meadows Day Centre Committee

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reference number

Telephone number 01354 696261 Date of previous inspection 25 May 2018

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Information about this early years setting

The Meadows Day Care Centre registered in 1998. It is run by a committee and employs 10 members of childcare staff. Of these, nine hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 or above, including the manager who holds a qualification at level 3. The nursery opens Monday to Friday from 9am to 3pm, during school term time. 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 inspector spoke to staff and children at appropriate times during the inspection. n The manager joined the inspector on a learning walk and talked to the inspector about the curriculum and what they want children to learn. n The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities, indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact this had on children's learning. n Parents provided verbal feedback during the inspection. The inspector took account of all their views. n The inspector carried out a joint observations with the manager to assess the impact of staff's teaching on children's learning. n The inspector spoke with the chair of the committee and the setting manager.

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Inspection activities

She looked at relevant documentation, including evidence of the suitability of 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

13 December 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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