Springfield Nursery - Osfted Report
We take the Ofsted inspection procedures and feedback very seriously and use it as part of our policy of continuing improvement.
The report below is our inspection from 26 September 2011
Inspection report for early years provision
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Springfield Nursery |
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Inspection report for early years provision |
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Unique reference number |
EY229837 |
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Inspection date |
26/09/2011 |
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Inspector |
Julie Neal |
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Setting address |
Springfield Farm, Marwood, Barnstaple, Devon, EX31 4DT |
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Telephone number |
01271 329028 |
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rmay@ukf.net |
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Type of setting |
Childcare on non-domestic premises |
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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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. |
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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk |
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© Crown copyright 2011 |
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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).
The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B.
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
Springfield Nursery opened in 2002. It is privately owned and operates from
Springfield Farm in Marwood near Barnstaple, Devon. The setting operates from a
purpose built building with an annex for the pre-school and out of school
facility. There are extensive secure outdoor play areas suitable for all ages.
The setting is registered on the Early Years Register, and on the compulsory
and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 70 children under
eight years may attend at any one time, all of which may be in the early years
age range. There are currently 170 children in the early years age group
attending at different times. The setting receives funding for early education
for three- and four-year-old children. The setting is open Monday to Friday
from 7.45 am to 6.15 pm, all year round.
There are 24 members of staff working with children, all of whom hold
appropriate early years qualifications.
The overall effectiveness of the early years provision
Overall the quality of the provision is outstanding.
Children's individual needs are met extremely well. The setting provides children of all ages with a dynamic and stimulating learning environment. As a result, all children make excellent progress towards the early learning goals overall, relative to their starting points. Rigorous systems of self-evaluation enable staff to have a thorough understanding of the effectiveness of the setting and to make extremely good plans for the future. As a result, the setting demonstrates a strong capacity to make continuous improvement in order to sustain their existing high standards and to continue to promote extremely good quality outcomes for children.
What steps need to be taken to improve provision further?
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To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:
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The effectiveness of leadership and management of the early years provision
Leadership and management in the setting
is excellent. There is an extremely strong focus on staff training and
development, which results in a very knowledgeable staff team who have a
thorough understanding of the requirements of Early Years Foundation Stage.
Systems to safeguard children are extremely good. Robust employment procedures
thoroughly check staff are suitable to work with children, and there are
effective processes in place to confirm their ongoing suitability. All staff
complete safeguarding training and they demonstrate a very good understanding
of the setting's thorough safeguarding policies, and of local authority
procedures to report any concerns relating to child protection. The premises
are extremely secure, and excellent processes of risk assessment protect
children from harm. For example, children immensely enjoy visiting areas of the
working farm on which the setting is situated. They do so safely because staff
identify all potential health and safety hazards prior to each visit and take
action to minimise these. Excellent daily health and safety checks and routines
carried out by staff result in children enjoying a safe and hygienic
environment.
The management team have been immensely successful at promoting a culture of
reflective practice in the setting. All staff take an active role in monitoring
the effectiveness of the childcare provision. As a result, systems of
self-evaluation are excellent and action plans for improvement are 'working
documents' that staff regularly review and update. For example, action plans
reflect the work that staff have done over time to develop systems of
communication with other settings that children attend. This has resulted in
extremely good processes of sharing information relating to children's learning
and development. Team meetings are used extremely effectively to review
specific areas such as safeguarding and inclusion. This ensures staff continue
to maintain high standards and to identify where further improvements can be
made. Parents' views are actively sought and valued as part of the self
evaluation process. For example, feedback from parents raised that many lacked
information about the early learning goals. Staff responded by using open
evenings and information displays to raise awareness of how children's
activities support learning through play. This has led to parents taking a more
active role in their children's learning. For instance, parents regularly
inform staff of their child's achievements at home, enabling key workers to
include this information when monitoring individual children's progress.
Children benefit from an immensely inclusive environment. Excellent
relationships with parents, and with other agencies supporting individual
children, ensure staff have a thorough understanding of each child's needs.
Children with specific health, learning and development requirements receive
extremely good support and so make excellent progress, relative to their
starting points, in all areas. Children's home languages and traditions are
valued. Parents are encouraged to bring items into the setting that reflect
these, so children can learn about aspects of each others cultures.
The quality and standards of the early years provision and outcomes for children
Children's welfare, learning and
development is promoted extremely well. Children of all ages make excellent
progress towards the early learning goals. They benefit from an enthusiastic
and knowledgeable staff team, who plan extremely effectively to ensure children
enjoy stimulating and challenging learning experiences. As a result, children
are eager and inquisitive learners. They are keen to explore and investigate
the exciting range of resources available to them, both indoors and outside.
For example, babies explore their surroundings with great interest. They follow
the patterns that lights make on the wall, and they feel the textures of rough
and smooth materials. Babies and very young children confidently explore
resources that include switches and pulleys to move or to make sounds. Overall,
staff use resources extremely well to support children's learning in all areas.
For example, computers and interactive white-boards are used to enhance
children's knowledge of letters, numbers, and shapes, and children use this
technology extremely confidently. There are minor weaknesses in how resources
are used by adults to develop children's curiosity about the wider world. Staff
make excellent observations of children, which they use most effectively to
monitor each child's progress towards the early learning goals, and to identify
children's next steps in learning. Children's learning diaries contain a wealth
of evidence that illustrates each child's progress over time. Parents and
children are encouraged to contribute to these, in order to celebrate
children's achievements at home.
Children enjoy an excellent balance of adult led and child initiated learning
experiences, and planned activities generally stem from children's ideas and
suggestions. For example, children talk about seasonal changes that they
observe in the surrounding countryside, leading to a wide variety of activities
that focus on exploring autumn. Children have collected leaves and sorted these
by size and colour to print with and to laminate to make mobiles. Children
explore under hedges and logs to identify insects and wildlife, and they learn
about animals that will hibernate. Children have immensely enjoyed picking
blackberries, learning to identify when the fruit is ripe and make blackberry
pies and crumbles to eat. Staff make excellent use of the farm setting to raise
children's awareness of the natural world, and to promote understanding of
health and safety routines. For example, children of all ages thoroughly enjoy
feeding the chickens, goats, and pigs, and collecting eggs. Children understand
how to conduct themselves to minimise the risk of being pecked, and they
carefully wash their hands when they return indoors. Children's awareness of a
healthy diet is very good. Children grow a wide variety of fruit and
vegetables, and are always eager to cook and eat what they have cultivated
themselves. Extremely good use is made of cookery to teach children to consider
different ways of cooking what they grow and to learn to make healthy choices
about what they eat. Children of all ages enjoy extremely good activities that
promote healthy exercise and physical coordination and control. For example,
children are well coordinated as they bounce on the trampoline, confidently
making star jumps and seat drops. Children race each other while pushing huge
tyres and hoops. Very young children enthusiastically play 'sleeping bunnies'
where they go from being very still to hopping and jumping vigorously.
Children are extremely happy and contented, and their behaviour is very good.
There are excellent processes in place to support children as they grow older
and move between each age groups base rooms. For example, two-year-olds who
will be moving into the pre-school age group spend regular time with their
older friends. As a result, they are familiar with their new surroundings and
feel secure. Babies and very young children have their individual routines
supported extremely well. Babies demonstrate that they feel secure as they
happily cuddle up to staff, confident that their needs are understood and met.
Annex A: record of inspection judgements
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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
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How well does the setting meet the needs of the children in the Early Years Foundation Stage? |
1 |
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The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement |
1 |
The effectiveness of leadership and management of the early years provision
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The effectiveness of leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage |
1 |
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The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement |
1 |
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The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources |
1 |
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The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity |
1 |
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The effectiveness of safeguarding |
1 |
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The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement |
1 |
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The effectiveness of partnerships |
1 |
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The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers |
1 |
The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage
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The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage |
1 |
Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage
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Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage |
1 |
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The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning |
1 |
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The extent to which children feel safe |
1 |
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The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles |
1 |
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The extent to which children make a positive contribution |
1 |
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The extent to which children develop skills for the future |
1 |
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Any complaints about the inspection or report should be made following the procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk |
Annex B: the Childcare Register
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The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: |
Met |
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The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: |
Met |