Little Pines Day Nursery in Bournemouth is proof of the fact that a nursery does not have to occupy spacious premises to achieve 'outstanding'.
Its cosy space is the ground floor of Pam Jones' family home of 20 years in a residential street in the Kings Park area of Bournemouth. She and her family moved upstairs in 2000 when she decided to launch the nursery.
Since then, Little Pines has gone from strength to strength, offering a warm and homely environment where children enjoy lively interaction with enthusiastic staff and are encouraged to extend their imaginative play outdoors.
Since the last inspection in 2007 all staff have been working towards achieving an 'outstanding' and would have been disappointed if they hadn't received it.
Mrs Jones says, 'When the inspector called in January it wasn't too much of a shock, as we knew we were due for a visit at some point early in the new year. She arrived early enough to catch some of the parents who were still dropping their children off, and they were very positive and complimentary.'
Lasting from 8.50am to 3pm, the inspection was considerably shorter than in 2007, when it lasted two days.
'We had a lot of evidence we were keen for the inspector to look at - for example, all of the folders we had put together on our work under Enabling Environments - but there simply wasn't the time for this,' says Mrs Jones.
During the last inspection it was commented upon that the nursery was not encouraging independence in the children as much as it might.
'This rested on things such as the pegs being too high up so that children could not get their own coats down and put them on,' says Mrs Jones. 'This time around, the inspector was impressed with how we had invested to address this. With the help of the quality premium grant we have had a new porch built on to the side of the house which accommodates a purpose-built cloakroom with low-level pegs. Children are now easily able to access their coats, shoes and bags themselves.
'We have also installed a canopy over our decking which enables free-flow play and have bought waterproof clothing for all staff and children so they can get outside in all weathers. We even have a book corner under the canopy.'
Little Pines benefits from a small but well-qualified and highly motivated team. Mrs Jones and two of her colleagues have achieved Early Years Professional Status, while her other five practitioners are at Level 5, 4, 3 and 2.
'We are lucky with our local authority, which is pro-active in training,' she says. 'This weekend I am going along to a willow weaving course at a local children's centre, and we are also about to receive new health and safety training.'
On the subject of leadership, the inspector wanted to know the setting's key planks of development in the last three years and Mrs Jones's vision for sustainability.
One area of judgement she questions is that of equality and diversity, for which the nursery received a 'good' rather than outstanding. 'This seemed to be because we do not currently have a child from an ethnic minority or with a disability,' she says. 'However, over the years we have had children with one-to-one carers and children who have needed support for speech and language, so this seemed a little arbitrary.'
Self-Evaluation Form
Mrs Jones says she had been filling out the self-evaluation form from the beginning of September but had not submitted it to Ofsted until January. She felt the SEF was a benefit when it came to the inspection itself.
'It is an opportunity for nurseries to put down everything they are doing and give the inspector an in-depth feel for the setting.
'One of the areas we outlined on the form was our approach to healthy eating. In 2007 we won the bronze Bournemouth Healthy Early Years Award and in 2009 the silver award. There are 41 elements to the way in which we promote healthy eating, exercise and emotional well-being, and these were outlined on the SEF.
'We also highlighted how children prepare their own snack cafe each morning. This involves two children preparing and serving food and washing up the plates and cups afterwards. This provides a complete learning experience and was one of the aspects praised by the inspector.'
Jeanette Yorke, planning co-ordinator
'We knew that it was likely an inspector would come in quite soon after Christmas and we were all feeling pretty confident. We have had a year to embed the EYFS and we felt our learning journeys were of a high standard. It was a case of feeling that our work was outstanding and deserved to gain that recognition.
'One of our strengths is having been one of 20 local settings involved in the Every Child A Talker programme. This has encouraged us to analyse children's language development and collect evidence around this.
'The inspector also commented on the visits from our artist and visits to a local school for music sessions. She was impressed with the children's general behaviour and she noted that there was a calm and happy atmosphere.
'She was also impressed with our parent partnerships, the evidence we presented of parents writing in the learning journeys and contributing their own photos, and also their written response of reply slips. We could show that we are inviting parents to social events at the nursery.
'She seemed to feel that everything was in place and because of this, she didn't have to dig any deeper.'
SNAPSHOT
- Little Pines Day Nursery in Kings Park, Bournemouth, was opened in 2000. Initially it took eight children aged two to five per session, but subsequently opened a baby room. It now takes 22 children per session aged from three months.
- The nursery employs seven staff, including two Early Years Professionals and one Level 5, one Level 4, one Level 3 and two Level 2 practitioners. Pam Jones, also an EYP, is supernumerary.
- The inspection took place in January, when Little Pines achieved 14 'outstandings' and three 'goods'.
- The nursery is fully booked for September 2010 and already 50 per cent booked for 2011.
- Future plans include constructing a willow bower, replacing the outdoor fencing and installing a mud area so that the children can 'dig to Australia'.