Introduction
This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.
The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10).
Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration.
Description of the setting
The Hatchlings Nursery School opened in January 1996. It is one of two nurseries in Basingstoke, under the company name of Hatchlings Nurseries school limited. The nursery is situated in Cranbourne, Basingstoke. The children use a main playroom and have access to adjacent toilets and wash facilities. There is a secure enclosed outside area, which is used all year. The provision serves a wide catchment area.
The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register for a maximum of 26 children. There are currently 34 children on roll in the early years age range. The setting is able to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.
The nursery opens on week days for 39 weeks of the year. Sessions take place Monday to Friday between 8:30am -12:00pm and 1:00pm - 4:30 pm with children having the option to stay for lunch between 12:00pm-1:00pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions, morning, afternoon or the whole day. There are four members of staff employed, all of whom hold relevant childcare qualifications.
The overall effectiveness of the early years provision
Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.
Children are happy, confident and settled in the child-orientated, friendly and welcoming environment set up for them by staff. The children thoroughly enjoy their time at the setting and enthusiastically engage in the range of activities on offer. They receive positive support from staff who meet their individual needs well and help them to feel valued. The resources and the environment are generally organised well for children to engage in purposeful play and activities. Self-evaluation is satisfactory and takes into account both staff and parents views and ideas. Staff at the setting have started to use the process of self assessment of their provision to improve experiences for the children attending.
What steps need to be taken to improve provision further?
To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:
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develop more consistent use of assessments of children's current abilities and the next steps in the learning to inform planning to consistently provide the highest levels of challenge and progression for individual children.
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ensure self evaluation procedures are effective in identifying strengths and weaknesses in the nursery to improve outcomes for children
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The effectiveness of leadership and management of the early years provision
Children are appropriately safeguarded through staff knowledge and understanding of the indicators of abuse and neglect. They are aware of the procedures to follow if they have any concerns about a child in their care, and these are displayed in the entrance hall for everyone to see. Staff carry out regular risk assessments throughout the year, ensuring all areas, equipment and resources are safe. They encourage children to think about their safety as they play and consequently, children demonstrate an increasing awareness of safe behaviours. For example, they remind each other not to throw toys or run indoors. Indoor space is generally well organised for children to independently select a range of low level resources. Children are able to choose if they want to play indoors or outdoors as the setting has implemented an effective free flow system. Equality and diversity is adequately promoted within the setting to help children learn about people's differences and to respect and show care for others. There is a suitable range of resources in the setting to raise children's awareness of difference. Staff are well deployed and move around the play room, engaging with the children in their play choices although, they are not always skilled at fully challenging the children to extend their learning in their chosen activities through effective questioning.
Staff are committed to developing professionally as they continue to increase their knowledge and skills through further training. They each have their own roles and responsibilities within the group, and they are all aware of these and what they involve. Staff have started to use self-evaluation as a means of identifying strengths and those areas they want to develop further. These are adequately targeted to bring about further improvements to the outcomes for children. The nursery has taken satisfactory steps to address recommendations raised at its previous inspection.
Management regularly seek the views of parents about the service offered and take action to address any issues.
Staff work closely with parents to gain a thorough understanding of each child's circumstances, abilities and needs, enabling them to recognise and value each child's individuality. Consequently, children settle well and are confident in their play and learning. Parents are given a 'welcome booklet' when they first make contact with the group. Information is then shared in a variety of ways including informal feedback at the end of the session, regular newsletters, notice boards and sharing children's progress files. Staff have an understanding of how to work with other agencies to support the inclusion of children with identified special educational needs and/or disabilities. They have established strong links with other local early years settings, such as reception class staff, so helping children's confident transition to the next stage of their learning.
The quality and standards of the early years provision and outcomes for children
Children are warmly welcomed by the friendly, dedicated staff consequently, they make adequate progress within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). All children take part in a range of adult-led and child initiated activities which, over time, cover all areas of learning. Staff have a sound knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and of how young children learn and develop. Adults are on hand to interact and support children's learning. They are beginning to use open-ended questions to encourage the children to talk about what they know
Children's personal and social skills are developing well. From their early days at the nursery they are confident in their relationships with others, for example as they spontaneously cooperate with each other in simple role play, or as they listen attentively to each other during circle time. They show sound levels of independence and attention in their play and activities as they freely choose and use a wide range of interesting resources indoors and out. Children's creativity is evident in their imaginative games in the home corner as they go shopping for items to eat for their tea and include their peers in their game. They are developing social skills as they learn to take turns and share their toys and activities. Children are confident at pouring the sand in the rotating wheel, sieving the sand, digging and making castles. At the play dough table the children roll, mould, cut and shape the dough using the transport cutters and during the structured activities after snack time they are becoming very apt at scissor control to cut out simple shapes.
Staff are sensitive in establishing consistent and positive expectations for children's behaviour. They actively encourage them to take growing responsibility for their surroundings and activities. Children feel pride in their own achievements, for example, proudly showing staff their finished models and paintings. They feel safe and secure and show a sense of trust, for example, a child who was upset was comforted on the lap of a member of staff.
Satisfactory planning systems are in place that identify themes and activities that are linked to the six areas of learning and steps within. However, current planning sometimes does not make full use of assessments of the next steps in children's learning in order to consistently provide the highest levels of challenge and progression for each child. Each child has their own record of assessment that shows the progress they are making in line with the EYFS areas of learning and different stages. They are supported by information from parents, photographs of the children in their play, along with observations of the various activities they are engaged in.
Children show a good understanding of healthy living as explain why they need to wash their hands thoroughly before eating. They enjoy varied and nutritious snacks helping to contribute to a balanced diet. Children learn about a healthy lifestyle. For example, they enjoy eating and talking about healthy foods at snack time and follow established routines for hand washing and wiping noses. Children are able to freely choose to play outdoors at every session where they can enjoy activities and experiences which cover all areas of learning.
Annex A: record of inspection judgements
The key inspection judgements and what they mean
Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality
Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong
Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound
Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough |
The overall effectiveness of the early years provision
How well does the setting meet the needs of the children in the Early Years Foundation Stage? |
3 |
The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement |
3 |
The effectiveness of leadership and management of the early years provision
How effectively is the Early Years Foundation Stage led and managed? |
3 |
The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement |
3 |
The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources |
3 |
The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity |
3 |
The effectiveness of safeguarding |
3 |
The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement |
3 |
The effectiveness of partnerships |
3 |
The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers |
3 |
The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage
The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage |
3 |
Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage
Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage |
3 |
The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning |
3 |
The extent to which children feel safe |
3 |
The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles |
3 |
The extent to which children make a positive contribution |
3 |
The extent to which children develop skills for the future |
3 |
