Revoe Community Primary School

Cherrytown Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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Cherrytown Nursery

Unique Reference Number 119248 Inspection date 06 July 2006 Inspector Carol Patricia Willett

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Cherrytown Nursery

Setting Address 67 Branksome Hill Road, College Town, Sandhurst, Berkshire, GU47 0QF Telephone number 01276 33995

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E-mail

Registered person Cherry Childcare 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 good. 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 good.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Cherrytown Nursery opened in 2000. It is part of the Cherry Childcare Chain. It is located in a large house in Sandhurst, with childcare taking place on both floors. Children under two years use the rooms on the first floor. The children also have access to a large outside play area. The nursery serves the local area. The nursery opens each weekday between 8:00 and 18:00, with children attending for a variety of sessions. The nursery is registered to care for 45 children, from three

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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 months to five years. There are currently 71 children on roll. This includes 23 funded children. The nursery employs 10 members of staff, two of which work directly with the funded children. A cook is also employed. Staff are well qualified, with eight holding level 3 qualifications in childcare and education. The setting receives support from within the Cherry Childcare Chain and also from the local Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP).

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children stay healthy, because staff follow current and appropriate environmental health and hygiene guidelines, policies and procedures. They play and learn in a clean environment. Children become aware of good personal hygiene through daily nursery practices. They wash their hands before eating and after messy play and observe staff acting as positive role models. However, older children do not always use the soap as they wash their hands when using the toilet. Children receive good care if they have an accident or require medication and staff maintain all necessary documentation to share with parents. Children learn the importance of a healthy diet through discussion at meal times. They enjoy healthy snacks of different types of fruit and carefully pour themselves a drink of either water or milk. They enjoy a varied and healthy range of hot meals, telling staff how much they like their dinner and helping themselves to more as

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Helping children to be healthy

wanted. Their individual dietary needs are met, as parents share relevant information with staff. Children use different coloured plates of red or green if have an allergy or have a vegetarian diet, to help them identify their meals. Staff ensure children have plenty to drink during hot weather, encouraging them to drink sufficient to maintain good health. Babies and children enjoy daily physical exercise that contributes to keeping them healthy. They enjoy fresh air as they play outside daily in the spacious garden. Outdoors, they have opportunities to use a range of age appropriate equipment including wheeled toys, a slide, climbing frame and tunnels. They enthusiastically run and jump and play outside. Indoors, older children join in with enthusiasm, singing and dancing, matching actions and words during Puss n' Flute sessions. They show a very good awareness of space and others as they run around and ride bikes,

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Helping children to be healthy

manoeuvring carefully round each other. Babies and children move freely and safely around the setting. They have good opportunities to develop their fine motor control, as they skilfully use a range of tools and equipment during the day. Babies enjoy good opportunities to practice their developing skills and staff clap and cheer them, as they learn to walk.

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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 The provision is good. Children play and learn in a secure environment where they move around freely and independently. The premises are bright and welcoming to the children. They are well organised, so children can independently access resources and activities to support different learning areas. They have ample space for play, both inside and outside. Children feel a sense of belonging, as staff warmly welcome them into the group as they arrive and their work is on display in the setting. They have a good choice of safe and suitable resources to use, to support their learning in all areas. They actively explore what is available, for example, they select discs and headphones to listen to stories, independently operating the equipment. There is a good range of nursery

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

equipment and staff ensure it is used safely for all children. For example, staff use harnesses in low chairs for babies who need more support. Children receive very good levels of supervision. There are good procedures in place, so children stay safe. Staff have developed a good system to bring babies down from the first floor safely, so they can enjoy outside play in the fresh air. Regular risk assessments identify hazards and there is good security in place, to ensure children cannot leave the premises unnoticed and strangers cannot enter. Children's welfare within the nursery is safeguarded by staff who are all aware of the nursery's child protection policy and procedures, though not all staff are confident in recognising some signs of abuse. Children and staff practise regular evacuation procedures to develop confidence and awareness. Staff record the outcome of these, to ensure children's safety at all times.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are happy and settled in the nursery, as staff are warm and caring and know the children well. Children make very good progress in all areas, as staff offer constant praise and encouragement. They provide a good range of age appropriate activities which are linked to the Birth to three matters framework and Foundation stage curriculum. Babies confidently explore the toys, which are freely available at a low level. They like looking at themselves in the low mirrors as they develop a sense of who they are. Staff encourage their newly developing skills, clapping as they take their first steps. Older children are comfortable and secure in their playroom, as they freely play and explore the activities. They are confident in their relationships with the staff and other children. They confidently engage adults in conversation and ask staff to explain things to them, asking what the inspector is doing. Staff listen well to the

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

children, for example, as children reflect on their mornings and days work. They are interested and responsive, consequently children are happy, secure and develop a good sense of belonging and self-esteem. Nursery Education. The quality of nursery education is good. Children enthusiastically take part in the range of activities and resources. Staff create a welcoming fun environment. Children make very good progress through the stepping-stones towards the early learning goals, as staff's effective planning ensures children access and take part in a good

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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 range of activities. Children develop their independence skills through the freedom of choice and range of resources available to them. Staff encourage the children to join in with conversations and contribute their thoughts and feelings, for example, they discuss their work and what they have done during the morning at reflective time. Children enjoy books and stories and they are able to sit and listen well at group times. Staff provide children with opportunities to recognise words in print, through the clear labelling around the rooms. Children are beginning to be aware that print carries meaning and confidently recognise their names, as they label their cups at snack time and put their names on the jobs board. Children are confident in their mark making skills and practise these within the daily routines, for example, when

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

easel painting and at freely chosen drawing activities. They have free access to writing materials and some of the children write recognisable letters, as they ask staff to help them spell motorbike to label their drawings. Children develop good phonic awareness and use this to help them write the letters spelt out by staff. Staff provide children with a good range of opportunities and resources to develop their imaginative skills, such as free painting at the easel, role-play at the travel agents and when playing with construction toys. They enjoy music and movement matching actions and words during Puss 'n' Flues music sessions. Children are learning to take turns and show co-operation in their play, staff act as good role models and encourage the children to share the toys and resources. They give children a high level of praise and encouragement in their play and this helps develop and build children's self-esteem. Children use mathematical language in

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

their everyday activities, for example, they exclaim "we need more forks" as they lay the table at lunch time. Staff encourage their skills by asking them to calculate how many more. They are confident in their use of numbers and count in everyday activities, such as the numbers of animals in the water tray. Children learn about the world around them through different themes and topics, such as when playing in the role play area travel agents. They are becoming aware of the traditions and cultures of other people, as they take home Anna bear. Staff provide children with opportunities and resources to develop their large muscle skills during physical play in the large garden. However, they do not make effective use of the outdoor environment to further develop children's learning in all skills areas. Children are able to self-select from a good range of toys and tools, such as paint brushes and scissors, pencils and hole punches to develop their fine motor skills.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Teaching and learning is good. Staff discuss the children with parents and have a good knowledge of their individual family backgrounds, needs and preferences. Staff use the company theme planning and adapt it for children attending the nursery. Planning covers all areas of learning and staff undertake daily observations, using tracking sheets, of children in free play and planned activities. Planning documentation does not effectively identify how activities are adapted for children learning at different rates, and how activities will be sufficiently challenging for more able children. Staff use observations of children to update their development records and plan for their next steps in learning. Children’s progress is recorded through the stepping-stones towards the early learning goals. Staff use a range of consolidation techniques, such as reviewing activities and questioning to extend children's skills,

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

thinking and understanding and to reinforce children's learning.

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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

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children are confident and develop good self esteem as staff are caring and supportive, and have a good knowledge of the individual children in their care. Children feel valued, as staff greet them and their parents warmly as they arrive. Information is shared daily and this ensures children's needs are met. Good relationships between children and staff are in place and children are developing friendships with their peers. Children are learning right from wrong through the consistent boundaries in place, and older children learn about the nursery's code of kindness. They are cooperative and mostly behave well. They are polite and show good manners, saying ‘excuse me’ as they want to get by. They respond to the clear explanation from staff when behaviour is unacceptable. For example, when children are dropping animals into the water tray, staff explain they must stop as they are

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Helping children make a positive contribution

splashing everybody. Staff give children constant praise and encouragement and act as good role models. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. Children develop a sense of responsibility as they choose their jobs for the day, such as laying the table for lunch and tidying the book area. They learn about their own and other cultures, as they take Anna bear home and write in the diary and talk about what she has done at their house. This enables them to develop a positive attitude towards the wider community and other people. There are effective procedures and policies in place to support children with learning difficulties and disabilities, although none currently attend. Children say simple prayers of thanks before they eat their meals. Staff and parents exchange information daily. They work well together to ensure children's needs are met. Staff are aware of children's starting points, needs and

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Helping children make a positive contribution

preferences in their play, as parents fully discuss their child when they start at the nursery. Parents receive comprehensive information about the setting through the prospectus, notice boards and regular newsletters. They are invited to complete a questionnaire annually, which staff use to improve all aspects of the nursery. The partnership between parents of children in receipt of funding for nursery education and staff is good. Parents receive comprehensive information about the Foundation Stage through the prospectus, newsletters, notice board and the verbal communication that takes place each day. Parents take children's development record packs home each term, where they have opportunities to comment on their next steps in learning. Children have a reflective time at the end of each day. They discuss the days activities and show their friends the work they have completed, to enable them to share their day with their parents.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children are happy and well cared for within the nursery. Children relate well to the caring, interested staff. There are good recruiting and vetting procedures in place, to ensure staff are suitable to care for the children. Staff are well deployed and aware of

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Organisation

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 their roles and responsibilities. They efficiently organise a stimulating but calm environment for children's care and education. Staff have a good understanding of how children learn and training is ongoing for all staff, so they continually update their knowledge and skills. The leadership and management of nursery education is very good. Staff work well as a team, providing good support and encouragement for all children. Detailed but flexible planning ensures sessions run smoothly and children have good opportunities to develop their skills. Planning documentation does not effectively identify how activities can be adapted. Children make very good progress towards the early learning goals. There are very good checking procedures in place, so practice is regularly monitored and evaluated. The management team are committed

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Organisation

to update and improve their practice. Children's assessment records are effectively monitored, to ensure they are regularly updated and reviewed. Policies and procedures work in practice to promote children's health, safety, enjoyment, achievement and ability to make a positive contribution. There is a comprehensive range of documentation to support all areas of practice and ensure the effective organisation and running of the nursery. The Cherry Childcare nursery group are committed to improving all aspects of nursery practice using feedback from inspections, parents' questionnaires and observations. Overall, the setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection, the nursery were asked to improve aspects of safety regarding recording daily checks and meet fire officer recommendations. They have made good progress in this area and have complied with requirements of the fire officer, when using evacuation procedures. Tick lists are put on walls in each room to enable the staff to see which daily checks are required. Each room has an appointed health and safety representative, who monitors the safety of their room. The nursery were also required to address some issues in the provision of nursery education, where they have made good progress in nearly all of the areas. Staff have completed training to develop their understanding of the Early Learning Goals and have a good awareness of how these link to activities. Parents have opportunities to comment on children's development records. The staff encourage children to learn about practical mathematical concepts and calculation through everyday activities,

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Improvements since the last inspection

such as when laying the tables. They have good opportunities to independently access the resources, which are stored in low shelving throughout the room. They use programmable resources such as a computer and disc player and headphones, independently operating the equipment. Staff have received further training in managing children behaviour and there are regular room meetings to discuss issues, so they provide consistency. The nursery were required to support and extend children's learning opportunities. This area has not been so effectively addressed and it is carried over, as planning documentation does not always show how activities are adapted for children learning at different rates and the additional resources that may be needed. Tracking sheets have been devised, which show children's achievements and are used in future planning.

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Improvements 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

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Complaints since the last inspection

There have been no complaints made to Ofsted since the last inspection. 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 good. 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 good.

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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 children's understanding of good hand-washing procedures

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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 planning documentation to show how activities can be adapted for children learning at different rates and to ensure activities are suitably challenging for more able children • develop the outdoor play area to promote children's learning and skills in all areas of development and provide an interesting, stimulating environment.

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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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