Ysgol Pen-y-bryn

Woodlands Day Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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Woodlands Day Nursery

Unique Reference Number 400105 Inspection date 07 September 2006 Inspector Katy Elizabeth Wynn

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Woodlands Day Nursery

Setting Address 111 Wetherby Road, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG2 7SH

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E-mail

Registered person Funcare 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 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?

Woodlands Day Nursery is a privately owned nursery which has been operating with the present owners since May 2001.The nursery operates from a semi-detached house on the outskirts of Harrogate. The ground, first floor and annexe are used for the children comprising of eight rooms. The third floor of the property is used for administration work and as a staff room. There is access to an enclosed outside play area. The nursery serves the local community and surrounding areas.

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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 There are currently 74 children on roll from six months to four years old. This includes 18 children at three years old who are in receipt of funding for nursery education. There are four children attending who have disabilities and one child who has English as a second language. The nursery opens five days per week all year round. Sessions are from 07.30 until 18.00. There are 10 full time staff, nine part time staff and two supply staff who work with the children. Of these, 10 members of staff have an early years qualification and six members of staff are on training programmes. The setting receives support from the Local Authority.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children begin to develop a good understanding about the importance of healthy practices through effective staff explanations, activities and topics. For example, older children know to wash their hands after toileting to get rid of germs. They are adequately encouraged to practice good routines of personal hygiene as staff remind children to wash their hands after messy play and toileting. However, they are not always reminded to wash their hands before having snacks. Children are kept safe from the spread of infection as staff fully implement comprehensive hygiene procedures to ensure that they are cared for in a very clean environment. They follow effective procedures for cleaning toys, food handling and nappy changing. Children are well cared for in the event of illness or an accident as staff have attended first aid training and follow detailed procedures on health, illness, medication and accidents.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's health is promoted and their individual routines are well met with regards to eating and sleeping. Children are offered healthy and nutritious food during the day, for example, toast, hot meals, fruit and vegetables. They develop a good understanding about healthy eating through age-appropriate staff explanations. The children grow their own vegetables at the nursery and look after them, they are then involved in picking them and finally they eat them. This gives the children a great sense of achievement and encourages them to try a variety of vegetables. Babies and toddlers are offered regular drinks and older children can freely access their water bottle. Children's individual dietary needs are well met and staff follow detailed procedures to ensure that food is safely prepared. This includes attending food hygiene training and fully implementing detailed procedures when preparing food.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have very good outdoor facilities, they get plenty of robust physical exercise. They use the outdoor facilities, including climbing apparatus, balancing equipment and sit and rides with gusto. They also enjoy indoor physical activities, such as dancing and action songs. Daily access to outdoor play helps them to develop their balancing and climbing skills. Older children consistently show a good awareness of space. They move around the setting confidently and with control. They competently operate equipment in a variety of ways, for example, balancing on the beams, and enjoy planned activities, for example, obstacle courses. Older children confidently

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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 use a range of tools including scissors, pencils, cutlery and paint brushes.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are cared for in a clean, bright and well-maintained environment, which has good evidence of their play and activity. Rooms are organised appropriately for the different ages of children and there is a suitable outdoor play area which children access daily. The environment is well-organised so that children can move around freely and safely. In most of the rooms they can independently select from a good range of well-maintained toys, furniture and equipment. This includes role play, dressing-up, construction, imaginative play and a wide selection of baby toys. Children are interested in the resources available and toys and equipment are stimulating, fun, interesting and provide good age-appropriate challenges. Risk of accidental injuries to children are minimised through use of thorough risk assessments, a detailed health and safety policy and monitoring of accidents to

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

children. Children benefit from a suitable range of safety measures, for example, socket covers, safety gates and fire fighting equipment. Children develop a good understanding about safety in the setting. Staff provide age-appropriate explanations and question children to develop their understanding about the reasons behind safety boundaries. Children are regularly involved in practising the emergency escape plan. Children are well protected from possible abuse or neglect. Staff have attended training and have a good understanding of the signs and symptoms of abuse. They fully understand the procedure to follow with any concerns, to ensure that children's welfare is the first priority.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children enjoy a range of interesting activities in most areas of the nursery, which involve them and develop their imagination, language, mathematical thinking and creative development. These include role-play, construction and arts and crafts. However, in the toddler room children do not always have the opportunity to make independent choices and staff do not always respond to their interests. Older children choose when to have snacks, pour their own drinks and wash their hands independently after messy play and toileting, therefore their independence is well promoted. All children move around the setting confidently, freely accessing some toys, equipment and activities. Children are keen to communicate and share their experiences, building strong relationships with other children and learning to share and take turns. They are very happy at the setting and enjoy their time there. They benefit from strong relationships

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

with staff, who are very interested in the children, asking questions to make them think and responding giving praise and encouragement.

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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 Young babies all-round development is fostered through staff beginning to implement the 'Birth to three matters' framework. They develop their self-confidence and early communication skills well through quality interactions with staff, who talk actions through with young children and respond to the noises they make. They begin to explore the world around them through a wide range of experiences including music, sensory activities and arts and crafts. For example, the babies enjoyed messy play through exploring the coloured spaghetti. All children develop high self-esteem and are given plenty of praise and encouragement throughout their time at the setting. Nursery Education. The quality of teaching and learning is good. All staff have attended training on the Foundation Stage and this knowledge is used to help children develop well in all

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

areas. Plans are clearly linked to early learning goals and all staff are involved in planning through regular meetings. Some of the activities on offer lack learning intentions and are not challenging enough for some children, for example, a printed work sheet for the children to colour. Observations are regularly carried out by staff and assessment records updated to clearly show children's achievement in all areas of the Foundation Stage. One to one sessions with the child's key worker enable staff to identify and plan for children's next steps in learning. Resources are well organised and activities attractively set out for children. All areas of the room are effectively organised to provide good challenges for children and stimulate their interest in learning. Staff make excellent use of the outdoor area and this is also set out covering all areas of learning. Staff are enthusiastic, they motivate children and use

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

open questions to effectively promote children's thinking. Children have a strong exploratory impulse. They are excited, motivated to learn and enjoy the activities on offer. They separate confidently from parents at the beginning of each session and are keen to seek others to share their experiences. They show concern for others and begin to take initiative and manage developmentally appropriate tasks, such as toileting and serving themselves at mealtimes. Children look after each other, for example, one child showed care and concern for another child who was missing his mum. Children communicate confidently and clearly with staff, talking to them about their home-life and things that they have done. They have suitable opportunities to understand that print carries meaning and show a great deal of interest in books. They visit the book area independently and in groups. Story time is effectively organised so that the children are able to see the print and look at the

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

pictures. More able children begin to correctly form recognisable letters, writing their names with magnetic letters. They have suitable opportunities to practise their writing skills, for example, in role play. Children competently and reliably count to five and beyond. They begin to use number names and size language accurately in their play and more able children successfully recognise numbers up to nine. Children show interest in number problems and are given good opportunities to practise their calculation skills. They sing number rhymes, use computer programmes and are encouraged to calculate in everyday routines such as mealtimes. They enjoy using all their senses to explore a wide range of different materials, including glue, play-dough, sand and water. Children develop a good imagination and actively take part in a variety of role play opportunities. The role play area is regularly changed to resemble things in the

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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 outside world, such as homes, shops and restaurants. They confidently sing familiar songs and have suitable opportunities to explore the different sounds that musical instruments make. Children show an interest in technology and more able children competently understand how to operate a range of equipment including the computer. They show a keen interest in the world that they live in and begin to comment and ask questions about the outside world, confidently recalling past experiences and talking about people familiar to them.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children are highly valued as individuals and are treated with equal concern. Their individual needs are effectively met as staff use detailed registration talks and agreements to find out about children's allergies, special requirements, routines, likes and dislikes. Children develop a positive attitude to others and have excellent opportunities to learn about the wider world and community through celebrating different festivals, outings, topics and arts and crafts. They have access to a good range of resources to promote equality of opportunity. Effective arrangements are in place to care for children with disabilities and staff work closely with parents/carers to ensure needs are effectively met. All children are welcome at the setting, regardless of ability. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. Children behave very well. They take turns, learn to share toys and consistently show

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Helping children make a positive contribution

respect and consideration for others. Staff have organised a buddy system for any new children so they are cared for by another child. This gives the children responsibility and develops a caring nature. Children begin to understand right and wrong from consistent boundaries set by staff, who fully implement the detailed behaviour policy. They provide age-appropriate explanations to help children to understand the consequences of their actions. Good behaviour is well valued and children receive plenty of praise and encouragement throughout the day. Partnership with parents and carers is good. Parents are given good information about the setting and their child through newsletters, notice-boards, daily sheets and access to policies. Children benefit as staff and parents have built strong relationships and work together to meet the needs of all children attending. They have good opportunities to give their opinions through questionnaires. Parents have

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Helping children make a positive contribution

some opportunities to be involved in their children's learning. They are invited in to the setting to talk about their child's progress but are only given ideas to extend their child's learning at home if they request it. Yearly meetings provide them with opportunities to discuss their child's education and development and they can freely access their child's assessment file. They are given limited information about the Foundation Stage curriculum from displays and newsletters.

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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 Children have the space to play and move around freely and safely. They are given effective support and encouragement by staff, who help children feel secure and confident. Children are kept safe and healthy as staff attend and update appropriate training including first aid and child protection. There are effective procedures in place to recruit staff and ensure that they are suitable to work with children. Staff are well deployed, they constantly interact with the children and provide stimulating opportunities. All of the required documentation is in place to meet the National Standards. Staff fully implement detailed policies, which have a positive impact on the children, such as child protection and safety. The leadership and management of nursery education is good. All of the

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Organisation

recommendations from the last inspection have been addressed. Staff have attended training and have a clear understanding of the Foundation Stage curriculum to help children to develop well in all areas of learning. Effective inductions are given to staff to help them understand their roles and there are regular meetings to monitor staff performance and development. Planning is generally effective, staff regularly observe children to find out what they know and can do. Assessment records are consistently updated to monitor children's learning and development and these identify plans for children's individual next steps in learning. Overall the provision meets the needs of the range of the children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the setting was asked to improve the deployment of staff, staffing ratios and ensure children were not left unsupervised. The manager has devised a new operational plan and ensures that staff are well deployed throughout the nursery. There are procedures in place to cover sickness, holidays and staff breaks. There is a supply bank of nursery workers that are able to cover to ensure staffing ratios are met at all times. The setting was asked to address Fire and Environmental Health recommendations. The nursery has done this through ensuring all fire safety equipment is in place and that regular fire drill take place. They have fitted new sinks in the annexe toilet area so they meet with regulations. The nursery was also asked to improve the activities on offer for the children at the start of the day. The owner informed me that all rooms are set up prior to the children arriving so the children come into an attractively set out environment.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Finally the setting was also asked to improve information sharing with parents and improve documents for child protection and incidents. The setting has devised a new Child Protection Policy that includes information relating to if an allegation was made against a member of staff. All staff members are aware of this procedure. The setting has a separate incident book that is shared with parents. The nursery shares information with parents through daily chats, daily diaries and profiles. They also send out regular newsletters and have a parent's notice board in each of the rooms. Staff ensure they have sufficient information about a child prior to them starting at the

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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 nursery. They also plan settling visits for the child so their time at the nursery is built up gradually.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that required the provider or Ofsted to take any action in order to meet the National Standards. 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): • improve opportunities for children under three to make independent choices by using a range of resources and responding to their spontaneous interests.

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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): • ensure staff consider the intended purpose of an activity to ensure needs of all children are addressed • improve information provided for parents on the Foundation Stage and increase ideas for parents to continue their child's learning at home.

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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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