Pixie Day Nursery

Pixie Day Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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Pixie Day Nursery

Unique Reference Number EY309636 Inspection date 05 April 2006 Inspector Kay Bateson

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Pixie Day Nursery

Setting Address 13 Rectory Road, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 1HL

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E-mail

Registered person The Partnership of Jane Brooke & Catherine Workman 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?

Pixie day Nursery opened on the Rectory Road site in 2005. It is a privately owned nursery under joint proprietorship, operating from a converted building. It is situated in Beckenham, Kent, within walking distance from main line station, local transport links, shops, schools, parks. Children have access to an enclosed area for outside play. A maximum of 32 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is

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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 open each weekday from 07.30-18.00 for 51 weeks of the year. The nursery serves a broad catchment area and the children who attend reflect the social and cultural mix of the local community . There are currently 36 children aged from 1 to 5 years on roll. Of these 16 children receive funding for nursery education. Children attend a variety of sessions during a week. The nursery currently support children with special needs, and children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs six staff, including the register persons. There are three staff who hold appropriate early years qualifications and two staff that are working towards a recognisable qualification. There is nursery funding for three and four-year-olds attending and the setting receives regular support from the Early Years Development

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children benefit from the opportunities provided to develop their physical skills. They have active sessions indoors and out. Toddlers are increasing their control of balance; walking and running as staff members help them master these skills through providing space, the correct encouragement and support. This is apparent watching young children following cars down the slope, fitting shapes into posting boxes or inset puzzles. Children enjoy their daily time outside, playing on the climbing frame, pedalling bikes, aiming balls into the net and having plenty of fresh air. They have regular times for naps or quiet times throughout the day. This ensures children have a balance healthy lifestyle that supports their growing needs and development. Children are well nourished and eagerly eat the freshly prepared meals and snacks provided. Staff plan meals to give variety, include healthy options and support the

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Helping children to be healthy

children’s individual dietary needs. Children have sufficient opportunities help themselves to water or juice throughout the day and are developing good eating habits as they sit all together for meals. Staff sit and share in the children’s meals using the opportunity to raise their awareness about food through discussion. Children play in clean rooms, where staff pay sound attention to the cleanliness of rooms, surfaces and equipment at all times. Children are learning about important hygiene practices through their daily routine. They comply with the requests from staff to wash hands, clean teeth and to wipe faces after meals. Staff ensure children wash hands before eating and after going to the toilet. The present method of accessing liquid soap and hand drying facilities does not foster independent skills and increases the risk of cross-contamination when towels become wet or fall on the floor. The setting is currently reviewing their facilities for hand washing and drying to

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Helping children to be healthy

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 Some children have a suitable understanding of the importance of following regular procedures, as they know that germs on hands will make them 'sick' if they didn’t wash them. Staff do not always reinforce important messages with the children as they wash hands, cough, blow noses or clean teeth. Staff are inconsistent when wearing protective clothing whilst changing nappies or serving food. As a result, this impacts on the overall hygiene arrangements. Staff follow sound procedures when they administer medication as they obtain prior permission from parents before they administer a course of medication. They record the dosage following sound guidelines; however confidentiality is not maintained as they are not recorded on separate pages for each child.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children play in a secure and safe setting where staff pay sound attention and follow suitable procedures for risk assessment and preventing accidents. Staff members hold current first aid training; they deal with and record accidents correctly. They have sound systems in place to record attendance, arrival and departure of the children. Children play in areas that are secure; they are able to access toilet facilities independently and are within the sight of the staff at all times. There is sufficient room for them to move freely around the room and furniture, with plenty of floor space for carpet play. Young children sleep in an adjoining room that staff monitor and regularly check. Children are developing a sound understanding and awareness of personal safety. They respond well to the staff reminding them not to run indoors, to be gentle when playing, and be aware of others as they manoeuvre tricycles around the enclosed

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

outdoor play area. Staff explain the reasons of following sound procedures with children, which heightens their learning and attitude of important social skills. They are vigilant and quick to distract young children if they grab others during play. They deal with the matter swiftly to reduce the risk to children. Children’s welfare is secure as the staff give sound attention and follow clear procedures for child protection. They have attended suitable training and have systems in place to record any concern. Staff follow adequate procedures when other staff have to leave the play area to attend to domestic chores, fetch additional equipment, take young children for morning naps and are relieved to have breaks. The setting has suitable systems in place for the prevention of fire and clear evacuation instructions to follow. However, the staff have still to arrange regular fire practices with the children.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children enjoy their time at the nursery. They are confident explorers, are interested

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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 and become involved with their chosen activity for a length of time. Children can choose from a variety of activities on offer that staff regularly changed throughout the day. They have a wide variety of good quality toys and books to play with that provide sufficient challenges and maintain interests. Staff plan a range of suitable activities for the young children to join in with. These encourage young children to develop their ideas as well as new skills and knowledge. Staff have a sound understanding of providing a balanced, varied and stimulating range of play based opportunities for children. There are no clear systems in place to record young children’s starting points, progress and plan the next steps. Staff have limited knowledge of current guidance set out in the 'Birth to three matters' framework

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

and have yet to attend training to help put it into practice. Nursery Education The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Children are making suitable progress towards the early learning goals. Staff organises the room into different areas with a selection of activities for them to choose from. Staff ensure there is sufficient amount of materials so that groups of children can work harmoniously together. Staff become involved in the children's work, conversations and activity. They regularly praise children that raises their self esteem and attitude towards learning. Children demonstrate a sound understanding and use of mathematics, as they confidently count above ten, join in with number rhymes, recognise numerals, and use words of full and empty to describe the amount of water in a cup. Children are able to make marks and represent their ideas using a variety of materials on offer for them to choose from. Some older children are able to write their names and identify

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

letter sounds. Children like to listen to stories and sit comfortably together to share books and play imaginatively with the finger puppets. This supports the children’s use of language and their writing development. They are building secure friendships and are able to communicate clearly to each other. Children have a variety of planned activities for making, developing skills and learning about different seasonal or cultural event. This is apparent from the pictures created around the theme of the Holi festival, from the table display of seeds and bulbs planted to watch growing and to record events. Children have plenty of resources and activities that support their creative development. They enjoy playing in the role play area, using figures and paints to recreate familiar events or people. Staff plan opportunities to explore paint, glue and use a variety of materials. Children use collage materials to decorate paper Easter egg shapes and make Easter Bunny

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

hats. Staff have a list of written activities for children to cover the areas of learning. There is a daily balance of child-initiated in and outdoor experiences. They join in adult whole group sessions, of an appropriate length that support their age and attention spans. Staff work with small groups of children on a specific activity. They have written details relating to areas of learning on display to remind staff of the learning outcome. Some staff have a sound understanding of the Foundation Stage curriculum; therefore can confidently identify what the child is learning from a specific

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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 activity. They have started to record the achievement of the children. The current system of written plans lacks a clear overview of learning intentions to ensure that each child has access to a broad, balanced and purposeful curriculum. Assessments made on each child have yet to show clear starting points and their progress over a period of time. Staff have yet to use this information to inform the overall planning of activities.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. The partnership with parents is satisfactory. Parents receive suitable verbal information daily from the staff about the child’s day, their welfare and what they have been doing. They feel suitably informed about the setting, the staff and the care provided from the prospectus and regular conversations with the staff. Parents do not have access to information about the Foundation Stage curriculum and are not fully informed about their child’s next steps. Children have developed strong bonds with the staff members and are making sound relationships with each other. They enjoy coming, feel comfortable and settle quickly and are happy. They benefit from the sound working relationships the staff members have built with their parents. The staff are accommodating, approachable, friendly and work well as a whole team. For example, staff enjoy joining in the children’s play and conversations and know exactly what the child likes to do and celebrates their

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Helping children make a positive contribution

achievement with them. Children are learning about their diverse community whilst playing together and by staff providing a range of resources that reflect positive images of people, disability, ethnicity and cultures. They benefit from looking at pictures around the setting of different people and joining in the activities the staff members plan to celebrate different festivals or special days throughout the year. Children with special needs have suitable support, as the staff work very closely with parents to ensure the child’s welfare and individual dietary needs will be well supported and understood. Children are developing their independence skills and becoming confident learners. They are able to feed themselves, deal confidently with their own personal care skills, select materials to use and put on clothing with some help when requested. All children settle quickly as the setting operates a sound settling in procedure for them.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

They have full attention from the staff who gives them plenty of comfort and reassurance when required. This enables children to feel emotionally safe and secure while away from their parents. Children behave well as they become engrossed in what they are doing and maintain their interest for some time. The staff encourage good behaviour by consistent praise and encouragement, promoting good social skills of ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ at all times. The children are developing their social skills and good manners, for example, they use ‘please’ and thank you’, share toys and wait their turn to clean their teeth after meals. These experiences help foster 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

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. The leadership and management is satisfactory. Children play happily in an organised setting that is welcoming, bright and interesting to them. The staff organise the indoor and outdoor space to accommodate the play needs of all children. They provide a balance of activities each day to support their learning and interests. They benefit from the strong staff team that work well together and share their knowledge with others. Children are safe and well cared for as the staff follow the sound policies and procedures in place. Overall staffing levels are satisfactory, although at a minimal level. All required documentation is kept up to date and correct, as staff follow sound policies to ensure parental consent is in place. The providers have a suitable vision for the group’s future development to improve the service they provide. They encourage staff to attend training to support their

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Organisation

professional development, however, there is no system in place for formal staff appraisal. They have already identified the strengths and weaknesses of the setting and have identified future training needs. These relate to staff understanding of current guidance in the ‘Birth to three matters’ framework and the Foundation Stage curriculum. The provider has yet to complete the action plan devised at registration to update her qualification. In addition, not all staff have a currently recognised qualification. 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 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 AND 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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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): • conduct and record regular fire evacuation procedures. • ensure required staffing levels are maintained at all times, especially when staff are absent or having to perform tasks away from working directly with children. • develop staff awareness, a system for planning, recording and assessing the learning outcomes to help children's development, in line with the aspects of the 'Birth to three matters' framework • complete the action plan from registration to ensure the registered person/co-manager holds an appropriate level qualification in child care and develop an action plan for supervisors to meet the qualification requirements.

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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): • continue to improve staff awareness, professional development, and training on the foundation stage curriculum • develop existing systems of planning, recording and evaluating children's learning; in order that they provide a clear picture of progress, inform the overall planning of activities and the next steps in learning • develop existing systems to inform parents about the Foundation Stage to enable them to become more involved in their child's progress, learning, next steps and achievement

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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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