Chuckles Day Nursery

Chuckles Day Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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Chuckles Day Nursery

Unique Reference Number EY316089 Inspection date 09 May 2006 Inspector Linda Janet Chauveau

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Chuckles Day Nursery

Setting Address Trescol Vean, Baldhu, Truro, Cornwall, TR3 6EG

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E-mail

Registered person Chuckles Nurseries Ltd Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Full day care

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E-mail

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are satisfactory. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Chuckles Day Nursery, Trescol Vean is one of 3 nurseries run by Chuckles Nurseries Ltd. It opened in 2005 and operates from a detached premises in the hamlet of Baldhu, close to the city of Truro, Cornwall. A maximum of 45 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 08:00 until 18:00 for 51 weeks of the year. All children share access to a secure enclosed play area. There are currently 18 children from birth to 5 years on roll. Of these, 3 children

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 receive funding for nursery education. Children come from a wide catchment area. The nursery employs 3 staff. Over half the staff have early years qualifications to National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) level 2 or 3. The setting receives support from an advisory teacher from the local authority and is a member of the Kernow Association of Day Nurseries.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children benefit from being cared for by staff who have a sound understanding of the nurseries health and hygiene policies. They are kept safe from infection as staff clean tables and surfaces and follow sensible procedures when carrying out nappy changes. Children learn the importance of good personal hygiene through daily routines, such as washing hands after using the toilet and before lunch and snack times. However, the location and accessibility of the toilets means that children are unable to develop independent personal care skills without adult supervision. Children's health is safeguarded as staff hold current first aid certificates, complete required accident and medication records and take note of children's individual health and dietary requirements. Children enjoy a healthy and nutritious diet. They have an appetising, cooked two-course lunch each day, such as homemade curry with rice and fresh vegetables,

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Helping children to be healthy

apple and pear crumble with custard. The chef employed by the nursery will tailor her menus to meet children's individual dietary needs. Babies' health and well-being is promoted by staff who follow individual routines for rest and feeding. Staff ensure that children receive sufficient drinks during the day, with water readily available. All children have regular opportunities to learn about keeping healthy by enjoying exercise and time spent in the fresh air. Children enjoy being active, playing on sit-and-ride toys and enjoying the experience of being outside. The spacious outdoor area has not yet been developed to offer older and more able children challenging activities to develop strength and climbing skills. Indoors, younger children are able to practice crawling and walking in a safe environment, and to develop their climbing skills using appropriate apparatus. Older children are learning to use a variety of

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Helping children to be healthy

tools, such as scissors and large paintbrushes to develop small muscle control. They develop co-ordination whilst throwing and catching soft shapes. Planned activities teach children about their bodies and keeping healthy.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children enjoy a safe and secure environment, where risks have been minimised. All areas of the nursery are clean and well maintained. The nursery is organised very effectively to enable children to move around freely and in safety. All areas of the nursery are visually stimulating with a good range of posters and children's work on

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 show. Children play with a good variety of well-maintained toys at tabletop and on floor level. There are opportunities for children to make safe and independent play choices, for example from the writing area and toy baskets. Resources are in good condition and include natural as well as manufactured materials. Outdoors, children play safely in a spacious and secure area. Children benefit from a good range of safety measures; for example, external doors cannot be opened from the outside, staff carefully monitor all visitors to the premises and all electrical and fire safety equipment is regularly checked and serviced. Staff follow comprehensive health and safety policies to ensure that risks to children are minimised and that they are kept safe. Children are protected from possible abuse or

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

neglect. The nursery co-owner co-ordinates child protection issues and staff receive child protection training as part of their induction to the nursery. All staff are aware of procedures to follow and have a sound awareness of the types of abuse and signs to look for.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. All children enjoy their time at the nursery. Younger children are offered choices that stimulate and engage their interest. A curriculum, relating to the early years guidance, the Birth to three matters framework, is planned for them. Staff make observational records of children's development. Communication skills are developed by staff as they sit and cuddle babies, talking to them, making sounds and vocalising whilst maintaining good eye contact. Mirrors and collages of babies' faces help to develop a sense of self. Toddlers and babies use well-resourced treasure baskets to explore the texture and shapes of natural materials such as fire cones and sponges. Their senses are stimulated as they watch coloured light and water features and as they shake and rattle bottles filled with coloured sand, water and pasta. They enjoy drawing with crayons and building using recycled materials. Toddlers enjoy the

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

challenge of climbing up and sliding down the indoor climbing frame as they develop strength, co-ordination and confidence. Nursery Education The quality of teaching and children's learning is satisfactory. Children follow a planned curriculum, which is designed to cover all areas of learning and links to the stepping stones towards the early learning goals. Weekly target activities focus on key learning intentions. However, not all staff understand the purpose of the key learning intentions and records are not always made to assess children's progress against them. Staff have started to make some developmental observations on children but these have not been used to plan individual progress targets for them. Staff tailor activities to meet children's needs, aware that younger children have a limited attention span and are, therefore, unable to sustain engagement for long periods. Staff ensure sufficient variety and choice is available to stop children

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

becoming restless. Children are starting to develop confidence and self-esteem. They enjoy relating to staff, discussing favourite toys and home life. Staff support children in developing self

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 care skills, for example, when visiting the toilet and washing their hands. Children have opportunities to develop mark-making skills using a variety of tools; brushes, crayons and pencils. Writing is given purpose through the clear labelling of resources and equipment throughout the nursery. Children enjoy listening to stories and singing familiar nursery rhymes. Staff use small group activities to extend vocabulary such as explaining that peeled orange pieces are called segments. Staff teach children that books can be used as a source of information through the imaginative displays of books on growth and living things on the interest table. Children are starting to develop an awareness of number through planned activities such as playing snakes and ladders on the floor mat and using dried pulses to form

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

numerals. However, staff do not make use of everyday routines such as snack and circle times to introduce the concepts of shape, space and calculation. Children have opportunities to develop technology skills using the computer to complete simple programmes. They explore and investigate, smelling and tasting fruit and learning that their pips can be planted to grow. Children show interest in people familiar to them as they discuss home life with staff and have planned opportunities to learn about the wider world. Staff do not fully utilise group activities to develop children's awareness of a sense of time and place. A well-resourced role-play area provides children with opportunities to develop their imaginations. Children enjoy exploring sound and rhythm using a variety of musical instruments, singing familiar songs and joining in with nursery rhymes. They use their senses to explore the texture of

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

mixtures of corn flour and water and play dough, smelling the lemon and orange scents in them.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children are developing their relationships with staff and each other. Recent staff changes and the use of several relief staff has resulted in the lack of a consistent staff team at the nursery. However, the use of effective settling in procedures and by staff ensuring that individual children's information is fully shared, ensures that children receive appropriate care. Staff are friendly and approachable, they talk with children and their families about events at home, this helps build positive and trusting relationships. Children's behaviour is good; staff manage children effectively encouraging them to follow simple instructions and rewarding them with warmth and praise for their participation and help. As a result, children develop self-esteem and confidence to express their thoughts and feelings. Children have equal access to all activities and resources provided. Children learn

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Helping children make a positive contribution

about their local community and the wider world through planned activities. There are sufficient resources and visual displays to develop children's understanding of other cultures and lifestyles. Staff are aware of the nursery's procedures to support children with additional needs and would liaise with outside agencies should this be required. The nursery's owners have plans in place to develop the premises to accommodate children with mobility problems should the need arise. The nursery fosters children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 The partnership with parents is satisfactory. Parents receive adequate information about the nursery's operational procedures; they are referred to the notice board for more detailed information on policies. At the time of inspection, this information was not being displayed. The procedure to enable parents to raise concerns has been updated in line with changes to National Standards. Staff have friendly, informal, relationships with parents and use discussion to update parents on their child's progress. Progress meetings are planned. However, parents whose children receive nursery education, receive insufficient information on the Foundation Stage. Their views are not sought on their child's abilities before receiving nursery education or on individual progress targets set for their children. Parents receive on-going information

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Helping children make a positive contribution

about the education curriculum and suggestions of activities to promote children's learning at home.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Children attending the nursery benefit from being looked after in a well-organised environment. Staff know their roles and responsibilities and implement daily routines to give children a broad range of experiences. All legally required documentation that contributes to children's health, safety and well-being is in place and regularly reviewed. Children's records and nursery documentation is stored securely and confidentiality is maintained. The nursery co-owner has used relief staff employed at her other nurseries to cover recent staff changes. She is fully aware of the new recruitment requirements. She has developed robust systems to recruit and assess the suitability of new and existing staff. The leadership and management of the nursery are satisfactory. The nursery education programme has been recently implemented and, at present, a small number of children attending the nursery receive funded nursery education. The

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Organisation

nursery co-owner is aware that recent staff turnover has led to inconsistencies in the presentation of the programme. She is taking steps to rectify this by employing a qualified teacher to co-ordinate nursery education for all nurseries owned by Chuckles Nurseries Ltd. The nursery also receives support visits from staff employed by the local authority Family Services to help improve standards of care and nursery education. The nursery uses local authority resource documents as an aid to planning. The nursery co-owner ensures that her staff regularly attend training events organised through the local authority to keep up to date with latest thinking and newest practice. The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Complaints since the last inspection

There have been no complaints made to Ofsted since registration. The provider is

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Complaints since the last inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are satisfactory. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • develop the use of the outside play area to enable older children to develop physical strength in more challenging ways.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • develop systems to share information with parents regarding; nursery education and the six areas of learning, what a parent feels their child knows and can do before receiving nursery education and the individual attainment targets set for children • develop the use of everyday routines to introduce; the concepts of shape, number and calculation and a sense of place and time.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

procedures set out in the leaflet Building better childcare: Compliments and concerns about inspectors' judgements which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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