Last Updated - August 24, 2023
We are an ‘OUTSTANDING’ OFSTED Registered nursery, specialising in childcare for children aged 3 months – 12 years and based in the Ellacombe area of Torquay. We offer funding for 2 and 3 year olds.
We are committed to providing high quality, professional childcare for the children entrusted to our care. We acknowledge, respect and value parents/carers as primary educators and work in partnership with families for the benefit of their children.
Our aim is to provide a friendly and welcoming environment for children and their parents/carers and to build and maintain positive relationships with each child and their family.
Contact Name : Mary Browne
Contact Position : Manager/owner
Telephone : 01803 290030
E-mail : info@phoenixchildcaretorquay.co.uk
Website : phoenixchildcaretorquay.co.uk/
Name : Phoenix Childcare
Address : 21-23
Carlton Road
Ellacombe
TORQUAY
Postcode : TQ1 1NA
Notes : Close to bus routes and central to Torquay Town, St Marychurch, Babbacombe, The Warberrries and Ellacombe
Table of costs
| Amount | Cost Type |
|---|---|
| £4.50 | per hour |
Details : £6 per hour for babies (3 months to 2 years) £5 per hour for children aged 2 years to 4 years £4.50 per hour for children 5 years to 12 years At this time, meals are provided for free this could include breakfast, hot lunch, dinner, and snack dependent on the times your child attends. Please contact provider for further details.
Other notes
Our Ethos
To Communicate, Co-operate and Educate by providing high quality, affordable childcare in partnership with the families of children in our care, ensuring that together, we meet their child’s needs.
Our Values
Communication, Cooperation and Education are our core values. We support these values by ensuring that children play and learn in a positive, child-centred environment encouraging respect, confidence, honesty, creativity and trust.
Our Ambition
To ensure that qualified and skilled nursery staff deliver enjoyable, interesting and stimulating learning opportunities within the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework.
To plan, create and deliver a safe and stimulating play environment, both indoors and outside, within a nurturing and safe environment.
To provide age and developmentally appropriate learning and play opportunities to meet the individual needs of each child.
During our after school and holiday clubs, to ensure that older children are also encouraged to participate in age-appropriate, motivational and challenging activities, supervised by qualified and experienced staff.
We aim to strengthen and support the development of children and their families within Torquay and within the Ellacombe community in particular.
Immediate vacancies : Yes
Details : Vacancies available for 15 hours and 30 hours funding. Vacancies available in all age groups. Please contact us to discuss your needs.
3 & 4 year old funding : Yes
2 year old funding : Yes
3 & 4 year old 30 Hour funding : Yes
Opening Times
| Day | Opening Time | Closing Time |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 07:30:00 | 18:00:00 |
| Tuesday | 07:30:00 | 18:00:00 |
| Wednesday | 07:30:00 | 18:00:00 |
| Thursday | 07:30:00 | 18:00:00 |
| Friday | 07:30:00 | 18:00:00 |
Facilities : Refreshments
CCTV security cameras
Meals cooked on premises
Meeting Rooms
Role play dressing up
Sandpitsand play
PuzzlesJigsaws
ICT Facilities
Books & Storytelling
Quiet Area
Both indoor and outdoor activities
Kitchen Facilities
Sensory Room
Disabled Access
Construction toys
Cookery
Music time
Sensory Play
Nappy changing facility
Full cooked lunch
Toys
Out-door Play
Soft Play area
Outdoor Playspace
Songs, Rhymes and Music
Healthy Eating
Arts & Crafts
Visit & Outings
Baby Facilities
Home Corner
Baby toys
Walks to local park etc
Push-alongs
Water play
Games
Garden
Offers pickups : Yes
Ofsted URNEY397582
Link to latest ofsted inspection report
Inspection history
| Inspection Date | Inspection type | Inspection Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 19/11/2009 | Inspection (Early Years Register) | Satisfactory |
| 01/02/2013 | Inspection (Early Years Register) | Good |
| 27/08/2013 | Inspection (Early Years Register) | Good |
| 04/03/2014 | Inspection (Early Years Register) | Good |
| 30/05/2018 | Inspection (Early Years Register) | Outstanding |
Local Offer Age Bands : Early Years (0-4 years)
SEN Provision Type : Universal
A printable version of this form is available in the downloads section.
We cater for a wide range of Speech and Language difficulties, and a wide range of Special Educational Needs. On induction to the setting the Senco, leader or key person, and parents share information about the strengths and needs of the child.
The parents will have the opportunity to accompany their child on a visit to help settle them and develop a relationship with the key person. The child will always be at the heart of all we do. We work with the parents and support the child together.
Observations, listening, assessments, evaluations all contribute to Individual Learning Provision Plans (ILPPs). We will listen to you as well as your child. Our Senco will explain how children’s individual needs can be met by planning support using an ILPP and the advice from Area Senco. She will also explain who may become involved in your child’s development and their role. The key person will work with the Senco to oversee the ILPP targets for your child. The Key person will be in session with the child, if not then the Senco would be present. They will identify individual needs and plan next steps, accessing additional support from others where necessary (e.g. Speech and Language Therapist, SALT or applications for additional funding. ILPPs with be reviewed with parents.
The key person’s role will be to foster relationships, and understand the individual children. The Senco will maintain an overview of experiences and progress. She will also work with other practitioners to ensure provision is relevant / appropriate and seek support when needed.
We are a fully inclusive setting, with a great SEND team who will work closely with parents to ensure your child has their needs and interest met. We welcome all children and have experience of working with children with Autism, Downs Syndrome, Learning delays, Speech and Language difficulties, ADHD, behavioural disorders, English as a second language, physical disabilities, allergies, hearing or sight impairments, emotional difficulties. If your child has Special needs and your child’s particular need is not outlined above then please feel free to contact the nursery who will meet with you to offer support and guidance to best meet the individual needs of your child.
Decisions made about how much support a child will receive is monitored through observations made by the key person of the child in the setting and then discussed with parents, Senco and Manager. Observational assessment linked to the EYFS and knowledge of child development will be used to identify what support is required. Extra support will be put in place if necessary with the aim of enabling the child to become independent within the environment. On-going partnership working with parents by the setting and other professionals involved with the child/family will support the decision making process. The Senco will advise on the process of applying for extra support. The inclusion funding process will identify the level of need based on the evidence submitted to the panel from the setting and other professionals working with the child/family. Reports from health care professionals or others working with the child and family will be used to plan support within the setting.
The area Senco or other professionals working with the setting Senco will support the decision making process linked to planned targets. These will be written with parents and will include how parents can support their child at home. Staff meetings within the setting will ensure all staff working with the child knows the child’s need and how to support them. When our children are getting ready to go to school the school teacher will visit our nursery to meet the children. The children are then invited to the school and will go with either their parents or key worker and this
will help with transition. When our children leave the nursery we pass
any information and their learning journeys to their parents. This includes past and present Individual learning progression plans and any other information from outside agencies. We display any important numbers on the parents board/box, for example: speech and language drop in centres, local groups and a wide range of leaflets on different subjects relating to your child.
The key person and other staff in the room your child is based will get to know the child through meeting the parents during their initial settling visit to nursery.
Communication is key between parents and staff to support the child’s care and wellbeing.
The key person will regularly liaise with the parents. During the initial meetings between parents and the key person the parents will be asked to fill in all about me form and family trees. If the children are older parents can discuss the questions or encourage them to draw pictures.
We are happy to talk to parents at any time about any issues that they need to discuss. An on-going observational assessment is used to establish a starting point. The key person will observe the child in the first few weeks of them settling into nursery and complete a summery sheet based on their observations. These will be clearly marked as starting points as these summary sheets are used at several points during the child’s learning journey. The summary sheets are linked to the EYFS ages and stages of development. Activities, experiences, routine resources and provision are planned for the individual.
We cater for 2 – 12 year olds and we consult parents in a range of ways. New children that arrive to the setting with an identified need or possible need that has not yet been statemented can discuss with the manager or Senco their needs and concerns. The Senco is always on hand to discuss the child’s progress and work with the parents to implement any support the child may need so we are able to offer individual care. Regular meetings can be set up to discuss your childs progress, including via email or telephone. We liaise with a range of professionals such as Speech and Language therapists, area Sencos, psychologists, medical staff, Health Visitors and Social Workers. When we meet to set up and maintain individual learning plans parents can state what they need help with and we will support as best we can either in house or by consulting the Local Authority.
We offer an individual approach to all children where we take each child’s needs in to account in order to support them and help them to flourish. We have a trained Thrive professional who implements the Thrive approach. Below is a short explanation of the Thrive approach.
‘Each child need to feel valued, involved and appreciated. However, many children and young people face challenges that can knock them off course. That is when they exhibit what may be referred to as ‘bad or disruptive behaviour’ or ‘troubled behaviour’ or ‘behavioural problems’ – behaviour which is, in fact, their only way of communicating that something is wrong. What they need then is understanding and help to get them back on track.
Thrive is a specific way of working with all children that helps to develop their social and emotional well-being, enabling them to engage with life and learning. It supports them in becoming more self-assured, capable and adaptable. It can also address any troubled, or troubling, behaviours providing a firm foundation for academic attainment.’ (www.thriveapproach.co.uk, 2014)
We find this approach helps to prepare a child for their transition to school, and schools also use this approach so we work with the schools to continue the care at our out of schools facility all the way to age 12. We offer ‘special time’ with children where they have 10 minutes a day in which it is one to one and this is to help them with their emotional needs, and have found since its implementation that this has been successful.
In addition to this we can adapt the environment to meet your child’s particular needs, and we have had children attend our setting in the past with sight and hearing difficulties and we have adapted our practice by putting those children at the front at circle time, or using Makaton, visual prompts, or by being taking extra care to ensure we are close to them when explaining activities so they get the most out of the activity.
We adapt the curriculum we offer in a range of ways. Examples of this would be: –
Since our opening in 2010 we have worked with children with a wide range of differing needs, and because of this we believe we have the ability and knowledge to provide a high standard of care for your child. If we have not previously encountered your child’s particular need we can work with you and the area Senco to provide tailored support.
A specialisation that we hold is allergies, including very severe allergies. This is due to the Owner/Managers own children having severe allergies which involve administering an Epipen. We have Makaton and Thrive trained staff, and all staff have a background of working with children with behavioural needs.
Sencos/SEND team have completed Level 3 qualifications. Regular staff updates and training take place regarding supporting children’s needs.
We offer 15 hour funded places for our 2 year olds. We offer 30 hour and 15 hour funded places for our 3 and 4 year olds. All 3year olds are entitled to the funded 15 hours childcare the term after they are 3 years old, some families may be entitled to the 30 hour funded placements. Families who are not entitled to funding (e.g. under 2 year olds) and additional hours are available, funded by the parents at a price of £6 per hour (6 months – 2 year olds) or £5 per hour (2-4 year olds).
We offer all additional learning support as laid out within this document, and are always available to support your child in any way that we can.
We continually reflect on our practice by inhouse training, as well as courses provided by the Local Authority. We keep up to date to changes in government guidance, and use our past knowledge to provide support, and reflect and improve.
We can help your child learn about their feelings and relationships through the Thrive approach.
This is not applicable at this setting as we do not deal with young people of that age group, however we are one of the only settings in the bay that cater for children from age 2 – 12 so we can be there for your child every step of the way as they firstly transition to primary school, and then on to secondary school in years to come. This offers great continuity of care, and is especially useful for children who thrive on routine.
We offer all support as laid out within this document, and are always available to support your child in any way that we can.
Our setting goes on a wide range of trips both in term time, and out, but mainly during school holidays. The kind of places we have visited are various National Trust places and country parks such as Bakers Park, Parke in Bovey Tracey, Occombe Farm, Stover park, Decoy and Haldon Forest Park. We have also visited the cinema, Rainbow fun house, Play café, and a range of local parks. Due to this we believe we offer a wide range of opportunities to all children and are different to the provision most settings offer within the bay.
We regularly review our practice, as well as meet with parents, and outside professionals to decide what is and is not working well. We can then adapt according to the needs of the child, and take on board anything that has arisen during the time period since the last meeting. If however there are concerns, or support is required at any time we are always available at pick up, drop offs, or via telephone. We believe we have a strong partnership with parents and families, and can offer advice and support.
We listen to parents and guardians and take their feedback on board, and we have many satisfied parents past and present who have been pleased with the service we have provided.
A complaint can be raised at any time by contacting the Manager/Owner. If this is still not rectified then it can passed on to the Local Authority or OFSTED. We hope that we can offer the right support so this situation will not arise.
Parents can visit or telephone the setting at any time to find out more information.
