Footprints Day Nursery Alderford Street, Atherton, M46 9DS

Inspection date Previous inspection date

04/12/2014 11/03/2009

The quality and standards of the early years provision

This inspection: 1

Previous inspection: 2

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

1

The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 1

The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

The quality and standards of the early years provision

This provision is outstanding

The quality of teaching is excellent. Staff have an exceptional understanding of child

development and how children. They skilfully interact with children, supporting their rapid progress across all areas of learning.

Staff have a very good understanding of their roles and responsibilities in regard to safeguarding. As a result, children are safe and protected from harm.

Partnerships with parents and other professionals are strong. Their contributions to meeting the needs of children are truly valued and welcomed. Therefore, they all work together to support children's care and learning needs.

The activities and experiences provided for children are fantastic. They ignite children's curiosity and motivate them to learn.

Every opportunity is capitalised on by staff to foster children's independence. Children willingly help staff with tasks and enjoy doing things for themselves. As a result, they develop the skills and confidence needed for their future learning experiences.

The leadership and management are inspirational. Self-evaluation is used extremely well to continually reflect on the service they provide, identify improvements and drive them forward. This results in a committed workforce that continually raises the quality of the service they provide in ways that have the maximum positive impact for children.

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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 had a tour of the nursery and observed activities in the children's rooms.

The inspector held a meeting with the manager and they completed some joint observations.

The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and the qualifications of staff and some documentation, including the nursery's self-evaluation and policies.

The inspector looked at children's development files and individual planning documents.

The inspector talked to parents and children to ensure their views were included.

Inspector

Karen McWilliam

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Full report Information about the setting

Footprints Day Nursery was registered in 2002 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a former school premises in the Atherton area of Manchester, and is managed by a private provider. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery employs 18 members of childcare staff, 17 of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at levels 2, 3, 4 and 5. The nursery opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am until 6pm, all year round, and children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 87 children on roll who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. What the setting needs to do to improve further To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should: continue to enhance the already excellent outdoor area, in order to improve even

further the exemplary learning experiences provided for children.

Inspection judgements

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

Staff have an exemplary understanding of child development and how children learn. They are a well-trained, experienced and qualified team and the quality of teaching is exceptional. The educational programmes are rich and vibrant, which results in each child being interested and eager to learn. Staff capitalise on every opportunity to challenge and extend children's learning across all areas of learning and all ages and stages of development. Staff and children have high expectations of themselves and each other. Children are extremely proud of their achievements and of their nursery, and they excitedly ask visitors to come and watch them take part in 'letters and sounds' sessions or look at their drawings. Prior to admission, staff obtain a wealth of information from parents regarding their child's prior skills and they use this information extremely well to move children's learning forward. As a result, children make rapid progress from their starting points. Staff know the children really well, observe them regularly and maintain precise assessments of the progress they make. In addition, staff complete the progress check for children between the age of two and three years and share this with parents and the health visitor. This reassures parents that their children are meeting their milestones and identifies any areas in which children may require additional support. Staff have implemented highly successful ways of involving parents in their child's learning. For example, they have termly meetings with them to discuss their child's progress and they send home activity bags that promote specific areas of learning, such as mathematics. Furthermore, the planned next steps in each child's learning and development are always discussed and shared with them, and all parents receive daily feedback.

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Staff support children's communication and language development extremely well. They have successfully implemented the 'Every Child a Talker' programme and the impact of this is clearly evident. Staff skilfully interact with children and use every opportunity to challenge and extend their language. Exciting activities and excellent support from staff inspire children who display high levels of concentration while they play and learn. For example, they enthusiastically tell their friends they have found a pig in the shaving foam and together they name other objects that begin with the same sound. Children use an excellent range of descriptive words as they discuss the texture and feel of the extremely wide range of media available for them to explore, such as kinetic sand, bubble wrap and oats. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are very well supported. The special educational needs coordinator works alongside parents and other professionals to ensure targeted interventions are in place and meet their needs well. Staff in the younger children's rooms understand the importance of supporting babies' communication and language, physical and personal, social and emotional development. Staff are extremely affectionate towards them and always respond to their babble and attempts to form words. Babies take part in daily 'toddler talk' and 'island time' sessions, which further ensure that they develop strong relationships and an excellent acquisition of language. The expert teaching skills of staff ensure children make exceptional progress in their literacy development. Activities to promote this area of learning are extremely innovative. For example, children enjoy making marks and writing letters in the coloured sand that falls steadily from socks that are hung from hoops. Children snuggle in close with their friends and read them a story from their favourite book using the pictures as a guide. Furthermore, they proudly approach visitors and sound out the letters of their names. Outdoors is a hive of activity and every area of learning is extremely well planned for, and children thrive in the many experiences on offer to them. For example, they have access to the sensory garden, the role-play sheds, the many mud kitchens, an outdoor classroom, bikes, climbing equipment and planting and growing opportunities.

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

Children are very happy and leave their parents confidently upon arrival. Their key person successfully tailors their individual care to meet their needs and places an extremely high importance on making sure they are fully settled before they are left. As a result, relationships are strong at all levels and children form secure attachments to their key person and other staff. Children show they are secure by approaching the 'safe stranger' and welcoming her into their play, by confidently exploring their environment and snuggling into adults for a story. Staff ensure that children are very well prepared for the next stage in their learning by having excellent internal and external transition plans in place. These ensure that all children have the confidence and skills needed for their future learning experiences. Staff are exceptional role models for children. They are consistently polite and courteous to them, each other and parents. They set extremely high standards so that children learn to respect and value themselves and others. Staff constantly praise children and acknowledge their achievements, which positively reinforces their behaviour. As a result,

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children are very well behaved, follow instructions and play cooperatively with their friends. Staff enable children to take controlled risks in the environment. For example, children explore the thistles in the sensory garden and they use climbing equipment and a wide range of tools within the nursery safely. An excellent range of planned activities further support children to keep themselves safe, such as inviting professionals, for instance, the fire service, in to the nursery to talk to the children. Children have access to an extremely stimulating and an exceedingly well-resourced environment. This fully supports their care and learning needs. Children's health and well-being are a high priority within the nursery. Children are provided with healthy meals and snacks, such as fresh fruit. Mealtimes are sociable occasions and staff sit with children while they are eating and explain the benefits of eating healthily. Furthermore, children grow and eat their own fruit and vegetables, which reinforces these messages. Children take part in daily exercise and run and climb outdoors in the fresh air. Children's independence is fostered by staff very well. For example, they help to set the tables for meals and clean them afterwards. They are encouraged to serve their own meals, put their coats on and take off and put on their own shoes. In addition, children become special helpers called the 'eco-warriors'. They complete a range of tasks, such as ensuring the taps are turned off after children have used the bathroom, making sure lights are turned off when leaving the rooms and ensuring that appropriate items are recycled. For example, they ensure that plastic bottles are put in the correct bins. Children are proud of this role and explain to adults that they are 'saving energy'. Consequently, children's health and well-being are exceptionally well catered for and they take part in activities that teach them about looking after their environments and how to be responsible.

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

The leadership and management of the nursery are inspirational and their practise is worthy of dissemination to other providers. They are committed to improving outcomes for children and extremely passionate about their roles. All staff say that the children are at the heart of everything they do and this is evident within their practise. Safeguarding children's welfare is a very high priority and the registered provider has implemented numerous ways of assuring their safety. Excellent child-to-adult ratios and hourly headcounts make sure children are very well supervised and staff are well deployed. Coded doors and closed circuit television make sure the premises are safe from any potential unwanted visitors. Staff have an excellent understanding of their roles and responsibilities in regard to child protection. In addition, rigorous recruitment procedures and daily checks further ensure children are safe and protected from harm. The pursuit of excellence is clearly evident through discussions and the well-documented drive to continually improve the quality of the service they provide. For example, although the outdoors already provides excellent learning opportunities for children, the manager has identified another small area which is not currently used. She plans to enhance this too for the benefit of the children. The views of parents and children are sought and valued in the self-evaluation processes. The staff have a collective vision that radiates

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throughout the nursery, which is to ensure the highest levels of achievement for each child in their care. Their knowledge of the learning and development requirements is exemplary. This ensures every child makes rapid progress from their starting points and develops the dedication and aspirations needed for their future learning experiences. The registered provider ensures that each member of staff has a well-targeted programme of professional development in place to continue to build on their first class practice. All staff receive the supervisions, coaching and support needed to flourish and the impact of every training course is clearly evident in every room and positively enhances the experiences for children. Furthermore, the recommendations raised at the last inspection have been successfully addressed. As a result, children are more independent, they have improved access to technology, such as laptops and an interactive white board, and the observation, assessment and planning fully meet the needs of children. Partnerships with parents are first rate. Parents are extremely complimentary of the staff; they say they enjoy the regular meetings with them and feel fully involved in their child's learning. Partnerships with other professionals and other early years providers are equally well established and contribute to the needs of children being met. Staff demonstrate a strong understanding of the importance of liaising with other settings when the time arrives for young children to move on to the next stage of their learning. This ensures that there is a complementary and consistent approach to their care and learning.

The Childcare Register

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

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

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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 Requires improvement

The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. We re-inspect nurseries and pre-schools judged as requires improvement within 12 months of the date of inspection.

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 monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection.

Met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration.

Not met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. 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

Unique reference number EY221619

Local authority Wigan

Inspection number 869805

Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic

Age range of children 0 - 17

Total number of places 91

Number of children on roll 87

Name of provider Maria Bailey

Date of previous inspection 11/03/2009

Telephone number 01942 876546

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 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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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