Poppies - reports.ofsted.gov.uk

Poppies

Old School House, Ferndale Road, Swindon, SN2 1HL

Inspection date 30/10/2013
Previous inspection date 20/06/2011

The quality and standards of the This inspection: 2
early years provision Previous inspection: 2

How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who 2
attend
2
The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2

The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision

The quality and standards of the early years provision

This provision is good

 Staff deployment is good and provides children with a calm environment and good
adult support, so children behave well and show that they feel secure.

 The nursery environment is a bright and welcoming space where children have easy
access to good quality toys, which promotes their independence in what they play with.

 Staff work together well and there are effective systems to make sure staff are suitable
to work with children.

 The nursery has good partnerships with parents and other professionals to support the
good progress that children make.

It is not yet outstanding because

 While staff recognise the importance of children's home languages, they do not always
reflect these consistently through resources and activities to increase the awareness of
others for all children.

 Staff do not provide as many opportunities for children under three years to explore the
wider world, local community and natural objects as for older children. Therefore, the
younger children's sensory experiences are not promoted as well as possible.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:
 scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July
2016
 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example
where provision was previously judged inadequate
 brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that
suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years
Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early
inspection
 prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the
requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may
not be safe
 scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the
requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare

Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that
register.

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed staff interacting with children throughout the day.

 The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

 The inspector sampled documents including risk assessments, accident records, and
children's records.

 The inspector spoke with the manager and nursery staff at appropriate points
throughout the day.

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to during the inspection.

Inspector
Karen.Prager

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Full Report

Information about the setting

Poppies Nursery opened in 2004. The nursery is located on the Oxford Brookes University
campus in the Ferndale area of Swindon in Wiltshire. It operates from five rooms across
two adjacent buildings. All children have access to an outdoor play area. Children who
attend the after school care have access to a field for physical play. The nursery serves
the local and surrounding areas.

Poppies Nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and
voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It opens from Monday to Friday for 51 weeks of
the year, excluding public holidays. Sessions are from 7am to 7pm. Before and after
school care is offered for children aged from four years old to 12 years old. There are
currently 121 children aged from six months to eight years on roll. Children older than
eight years also attend the out of school provision. The nursery provides free early
education for children aged two, three and four years. Children attend for a variety of
sessions. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities
and those who are learning English as an additional language.

There are 28 staff employed to work with the children. Of these, six staff have early years
qualifications at level 2, ten have early years qualifications at level 3 and three have early
years qualifications at level 4 or above. The nursery receives support from the local
authority.

What the setting needs to do to improve further

To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 extend children's understanding of others, for example through activities to reflect
and include children's home languages to show that home languages are important
and valued.

 extend opportunities for children under three years of age to explore the natural
world and the wider community to broaden their understanding of the environment.

Inspection judgements

How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children
who attend

The staff team makes good use of the nursery's procedures for observing and assessing
children's progress. Key persons identify their key children's achievements and interests

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and feed these into weekly planning so that future activities are relevant and challenging.
As a result, children are making good progress ready for the next stage in learning. Staff
work closely with parents to keep them well informed of their children's progress and their
day-to-day welfare. They encourage parents to support children's learning at home, such
as suggesting raising children's awareness of daily routines. The nursery staff have
implemented the progress check for children aged between two and three years.
Documentation for this is in place and shared with parents and the local health authority.
This means that children receive targeted support if needed.

There is an appropriate balance of adult-supported activities and those chosen by the
children themselves. Babies enjoy exploring a range of good quality resources under the
careful guidance of their key persons. There is easy access to an interesting display of
resources, which include textured toys, cushions and mirrors. A variety of 'treasure
baskets' entice babies to handle and explore different objects, such as different fabrics,
and bathroom items. Staff support them well, using lots of interaction and age appropriate
vocabulary to promote communication skills. Children smile and reach out for a ball that a
member of staff rolls to them demonstrating that they feel safe and are interested in their
environment. Children listen well to stories and join in enthusiastically with familiar
phrases. Staff plan a focus on language each day which means children become confident
communicators, who are able to listen to those around them. Festivals such as Chinese
New Year and Easter bring relevance and enrichment to children's learning. Staff plan
interesting experiences such as a Halloween party involving parents by encouraging them
to provide relevant costumes. Children enjoy learning through practical activities such as
preparing pumpkins to carve. Staff involve children by enabling them to make cakes and
decorations to display around the nursery.

The staff provide good support to children with special educational needs and/or
disabilities. All staff involved in their care, including the manager, special educational
needs coordinator, room leaders and key persons, work well together to meet children's
individual needs. They make good use of the expertise of outside agencies by following
agreed strategies consistently. The nursery generally supports children successfully who
are learning English as an additional language. They take steps to learn key words in
children's home languages and liaise closely with parents so they can use phrases that are
familiar to the children. This calms children when they become upset and helps them to
feel secure. However, they do not always reflect children's home languages consistently
through resources and activities. Therefore, they miss opportunities to share these with
other children to show that all languages are valued and important.

The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children generally settle well to activities when they arrive. Those that are less sure are
given warm cuddles and children build secure relationships with their key person.

Children gain confidence through well-established routines such as snack time. They enjoy
making healthy choices and realise the importance of taking exercise as they climb and
swing on the apparatus. Children are reminded to be aware of cars when they cross the

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car park and can say why this is important. Staff manage children's behaviour
appropriately, with staff modelling good behaviour techniques such as sharing and turn
taking. They clearly explain to children what they would like them to do which helps
children understand how to behave. This helps them form positive relationships with other
children and to keep them selves safe. Staff explain risks such as balancing and climbing,
to the children. This helps them to consider and assess their own abilities and any risk
when they use the outdoor equipment. Staff remain close at hand during this time to
extend children's skills and confidence, such as when using the monkey bars.

Bright and colourful artwork makes the indoor environment stimulating. All children are
taken outdoors daily, where they climb, use wheeled toys or play with toys on a rug.
Generally, however, resources and experiences for the younger children to explore
different smells and textures in different environments are not as varied as for older
children. This reduces their understanding of the world around them.

Staff promote healthy lifestyles by providing fruit and vegetable as snack times, daily
opportunities for outdoor play and by promoting good hygiene. Staff support children to
wash their hands before eating or to wipe their noses with tissues, so that these routines
become well-embedded. Children know they can help themselves to a drink when they are
thirsty, and older children learn to pour their drink competently. Children are also
encouraged from a young age to serve themselves their food so that they have clear
choice in how much they eat. Children develop their independence well and there are clear
expectations for tidiness from adults. Children are well prepared for their next stage in
learning in this positive and inclusive setting.

The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years
provision

The manager demonstrates a clear understanding of the requirements of the Statutory
Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Regular observations of staff by senior
management, together with routine meetings, help to identify strengths and areas for
further improvement. Ongoing training encourages staff to develop their skills and
therefore, improve practice further. As a result, procedures to monitor staff performance
and the educational provision are effective. There are good procedures in place to identify
children who need additional support and to work in partnership with outside agencies.

The premises are well maintained and staff maintain vigilance throughout the day to
ensure children are safe and well supervised when they use the equipment. They also use
stair gates effectively to keep children out of areas where they cannot be watched. There
are effective systems to make sure staff are suitable to work with children. The manager
discuses the nurseries policies and procedures with new staff when they first start work.
This ensures she is confident that staff understand how these work in practice. She also
checks staff knowledge at the regular staff meetings to ensure their knowledge is kept to
the forefront of their practice. This helps to make sure staff know the procedures they
should follow should they have any child protection concerns in order to promote
children's welfare.

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The nursery develops positive partnerships with parents, who comment favourably on the
flexibility of the service and the support their children receive. Clear information is
available to parents through staff feedback and a regular newsletter. Various events, such
as 'stay and play' sessions, encourage parents to spend time in the nursery to become
familiar with their children's day. The nursery also works in partnership with local schools
to which children will transfer. Staff provide written reports about children's progress to
promote continuity. The nursery arranges visits from the teachers and visits to schools so
that staff can spend time with children's new teachers.

The Childcare Register Met
The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met
The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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What inspection judgements mean

Registered early years provision

Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs
of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are
very well prepared for the next stage of their learning.

Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets
the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready

for the next stage of their learning.

Grade 3 Satisfactory Satisfactory provision is performing less well than expectations
in one or more of the key areas. It requires improvement in
order to be good.

Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement
and/or enforcement action. The provision is failing to give
children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or
is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of
the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be inspected again
within 12 months of the date of this inspection.

Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement
is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for
registration.

Not met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement
is that the provider does not meet the requirements for
registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted 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.

Setting details EY278746
Swindon
Unique reference number 910426
Local authority Full-time provision
Inspection number Childcare - Non-Domestic
Type of provision 0-8
Registration category 99
Age range of children 121
Total number of places Teresa Woolford, Cherry Mace and David Mace
Number of children on roll Partnership
Name of provider 20/06/2011
01793 613457
Date of previous inspection
Telephone number

Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be made following the procedures
set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints
about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would
like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email
[email protected].

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually
known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years
Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee
for registration.

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in
any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools

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and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years
Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of
more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises, which are
usually the childminder’s own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and
must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or
after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years
Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their
Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning
and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children
receive in school.

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The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) 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 Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and
skills training, 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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