Caring Daycare

Caring Daycare

Inspection report for early years provision

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Caring Daycare

EY220880 Unique Reference Number 25 September 2006 Inspection date June Fielden Inspector

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Caring Daycare

Nutcombe House, Westcott Road, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 3DP Setting Address

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E-mail

Caring Daycare Limited Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care Type of 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

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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?

Caring Daycare nursery is one of a family of eight nurseries. It opened in September 2001 and operates from a large house on the edge of Dorking town centre. A maximum of 52 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 08.00 to 18.00 all year round, apart from bank holidays. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 78 children from birth to under five years on roll. Of these, 14 children receive funding for early education. Children come from a wide catchment area. The nursery supports children with learning difficulties and disabilities. It also supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language.

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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 The nursery employs 14 members of staff. Of these, 10 hold appropriate early years qualifications and four are working towards a qualification.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children are cared for in a clean and friendly environment. Efficient hygiene routines are in place to ensure children's good health. They use paper towels to dry their hands on when they have been to the toilet. Staff wear aprons and use disposable gloves when changing children's nappies, to avoid the risk of cross contamination. The high chairs are cleaned with antibacterial spray when children have eaten, to prevent the spread of infection.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are offered healthy snacks of fresh fruit and raisins. The nursery uses a catering company to provide meals for children, and the weekly menu is displayed for parents to see. Hot lunches are all served with a variety of vegetables, to ensure they meet children's nutritional requirements. Children with special diets are catered for and staff are aware of children's allergies. Young children are encouraged to be independent and to help spoon feed themselves. Children are given water or milk to drink at meal times, and water is available during the rest of the day, to ensure they are not thirsty.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's daily routine includes planned times for rest or sleep, if required. Effective equipment is available to enable children to benefit from frequent exercise. They use sturdy plastic climbing frames in the outdoor play area to strengthen their muscles while crawling, sliding and jumping. Children manipulate tools appropriate to their size to dig and tidy the nursery garden. They use push along toys and ride around on a variety of small vehicles, avoiding others and developing an awareness of the space around them. Balls and hoops are available to allow children to move their bodies in various ways, and to practise throwing and retrieving skills.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. The bright colourful wall displays in the rooms and on the landing include children's work and make the nursery welcoming to parents and children. Space is well organised to provide all the necessary facilities, and to meet storage needs. Children can move around freely in their base room, and a selection of toys is put out for them, that is appropriate to their age and stage of development. Younger children cannot access all the resources for themselves, but toys are rotated regularly so that they will not get bored.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Extensive measures are in place to ensure children's safety. Gates are positioned at the top and bottom of flights of stairs, and across the kitchen doorway, to prevent children accessing these areas unsupervised. There is a secure system for the arrival and departure of children, and they are unable to leave the premises unsupervised. Children are well supervised on outdoor play equipment and receive instructions on using the gardening equipment correctly. However, the wires for the electric fans in some of the rooms are accessible to children and this impacts on their safety.

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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 Children are protected from harm because all staff receive training in child protection. If abuse is suspected the manager is informed and the situation will be monitored. She is aware of how to seek advice, and when necessary concerns will be reported to the appropriate authority.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are treated in a very caring manner by staff, who show interest in what they are doing. There are large soft toys and attractive cushions for them to relax on in the rooms used by younger children. Staff share books with children while they wait for their lunch. They listen attentively, joining in with the hand movements to accompany the story. Staff support babies while they play with treasure baskets, which amuse and interest them. Nursery rhyme tapes are played to younger children after lunch, and staff sing along to the songs and shake toys in time to the music, to engage their attention. The toddlers are motivated by the soapy bubbles that are blown in front of them and show their amusement as they reach up to catch them. The two-year-olds plant bulbs in the flowerbed in the outdoor area, so that they can watch them grow and develop. They move independently between activities in the messy room, and

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

follow their own interests. Children use their initiative and paint with their fingers when they are unable to find the paintbrushes. Some staff have received training in Birth to three matters, and the planning for younger children is based on this framework. The staff in each room complete their own planning, and weekly plans shows the four activities that will take place each morning and afternoon. The tasks cover all areas of children's development, and include structured activities. Dated records, which include staff comments show the consistent progress made by younger children.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. The nursery education takes place throughout the day, there are two teaching sessions in the morning, and two in the afternoon. The nursery uses both Montessori and traditional methods of teaching, and children are rotated between the two teachers. Staff explain carefully to children what they are going to do, and positive encouragement is given while they complete activities. Many tasks are completed on a one to one basis. Staff stop what they are doing to allow children to develop their natural inquisitiveness, if something of interest catches their attention. For example, a Buzz Lightyear figure that someone had brought in was drawn to the attention of the group by one child who wanted to know how the rocket pack on his back worked. The member of staff with the group held the figure so that the children could pull the string attached to it, to discover how it

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

worked. When children are working individually with staff the rest of the group choose what they wish to do from a selection of planned activities set out for them to use. Tasks used to promote children's learning show that staff have a sound understanding of the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage. The Montessori and traditional teacher plan together. The current system of planning is fairly new to the nursery, and now ties the Montessori teaching in with the areas of learning in the Foundation Stage. Long term plans provide brief details of what will be covered during the course of the year. The Montessori and traditional teachers each produce their own medium term plans, which are used to produce their combined weekly plan. This shows the activities under each area of learning for each day of the week. There are

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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 separate lesson plans for the focus activities each day, which provide sufficient detail to be followed by others if either of the teaching staff are absent.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff evaluate focus activities and make regular observations of children. Both teachers choose two children to observe each day, and the sessions during which these observations will be made are shown on the weekly plan. The observation sheets used allow staff to record sufficient information to show children's progress during the activity and to decide on their next steps in learning. The information gained is later recorded in children's profiles, as evidence of their achievements. These show that children are making good progress.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children freely discuss their home life and holidays with members of staff while they eat their snack. During activities staff encourage children to talk about what they are doing and to explain what they see. For example, while completing a marbling task with different coloured inks a child was asked how the first and second pieces of paper he placed in the marbling tray looked different. He was able to say that one was brighter than the other, extending the child's use of language and encouraging him to put his ideas into words. Staff develop children's creative abilities, showing them how to hold crayons to make rubbings, on pattern blocks. Children experiment with the different designs they can make on the various surfaces. Staff ask children if they would like to write their own name on their work, and arrange the writing area in the classroom to enable them to draw and practise mark making.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children persist at tasks for reasonable periods of time, and talk to each other while completing activities. They sometimes co-operate with each other to play games outside, or role play during activities inside. Children sit together sociably at snack time and staff expect them to have good manners. This time is used to develop children's maths skills. For example, they are asked how many cups are required for the children present, then how many are needed altogether if they include the two staff. One child quickly completed the calculation and gave the correct answer. However, children are not involved in preparing the fruit, handing out the cups or pouring the drinks for each other. Consequently, opportunities are missed to develop children's independence.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children develop their information and communication technology skills using the computer area outside their classroom, and while talking to each other with walkie-talkies during role play. They examine living plants they have grown in the sensory garden, to find out more about them. Children help pick the tomatoes and herbs they planted earlier in the year, showing curiosity when the smell of the different plants is pointed out to them by staff. Children use their small muscle skills manipulating scissors and blunt knives while using malleable materials such as play dough. They use this to practise pushing, pulling and squeezing to make different shapes.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children are all treated as individuals, and staff are aware of their specific requirements, such as the need for comforters when they sleep. They all have equal access to the toys, which reflect positive images of culture, ethnicity, gender and disability. Children with learning difficulties and disabilities are well integrated into the setting, and are popular with others in their group.

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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 Staff know how to meet their needs, and when necessary activities and equipment are adapted for them.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Most children respond well to instructions given by staff, as their methods of handling behaviour are consistent. If older children misbehave they are removed from their activity for a while, and spoken to on their own, so they will not feel humiliated in front of others. Staff understand that different strategies need to be used with younger children, and tone of voice and distraction are the methods usually applied to encourage good behaviour. Children are given praise, and stickers to promote positive behaviour. Staff speak to children in a friendly manner and show them respect. Children are encouraged to be polite and show concern for the needs of others. For example, when the older children move around the nursery they are reminded to do so quietly, so that they will not disturb any babies that may be sleeping. The setting fosters children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents is good. They are very well informed about the nursery, including its policies and procedures. Staff photographs are displayed in the entrance hall, with details of the position they hold in the nursery. Each room has its own notice board, which keeps parents informed about what their children will be doing through the weekly planning sheets. The notice board for parents of funded children provides the long, medium and short term planning for both the Montessori and traditional teaching that children receive. There are also details about the Foundation Stage and an explanation of the Montessori beliefs and methods used. This enables parents to see what their child is learning, and allows them to follow it up at home if they wish. All children take home a daily sheet which tells parents what their child has eaten, any medication given, and what they have been learning that day.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The nursery holds various meetings for parents during the course of the year, to provide them with information and to encourage their involvement in the organisation of the nursery. Link meetings with parents are held regularly, where their representatives can meet with staff to discuss any issues raised by parents. For example, which charity will benefit from the money they have accumulated from fund raising events. The outcome of these meetings are fed back to other parents through their representatives. Educational evenings provide parents with an opportunity to receive information about the different teaching methods used and what their children do during the day. Parents' evenings are held twice a year, when they can talk to staff, see their child's records and discuss their progress. Staff are also interested in obtaining information from parents about children's progress at home. The parents of funded children

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Helping children make a positive contribution

complete a sheet each half term telling staff what their child has achieved under each area of learning at home, and this is used by staff to inform future planning. Parents are pleased with the care provided for their children and feel that staff are very approachable and good at working with them. However, parents have not been informed of the full complaints procedure, so are currently unaware of how any concerns they raise will be handled by staff.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. A robust recruitment and induction process is in place to ensure children are cared for by suitably qualified staff. The nursery has an effective registration system, recording the times of arrival and departure of children and staff. Children are protected from harm when visitors

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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 are present, as they are required to sign in and out of the setting and are always accompanied while on the premises. The training needs of staff are considered when they start at the setting, and are updated as necessary. All policies and procedures for the nursery are available to both staff and parents. Children's records are stored securely to maintain confidentiality, and are available to the child's parents on request.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of the setting is good. The staff at the nursery work together as a team, effectively taking on duties of others when unforeseen circumstances arise, to ensure the smooth running of the setting. The manager has the responsibility for overseeing the nursery on a day to day basis. The majority of the administration tasks are dealt with by the head office of the company that runs the group of nurseries. The deputy takes over when the manager is absent, and has her own supervisory duties, some of which she delegates to the staff in charge of the different rooms. The manager and deputy work together to see that the appropriate procedures are in place. Staff meetings are held monthly, to make sure all staff are well informed about the setting. Planning meetings take place weekly between staff. The members of staff responsible for teaching the Foundation Stage Curriculum meet with the

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Organisation

manager each half term to discuss planning for children's education. The manager is completing a self evaluation of the setting and is working her way through all the outcomes for children, recording the steps she feels the nursery needs to take to improve their performance. As a result, she is considering both the strengths and weaknesses of the setting and looking for ways to move them forward. The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom they provide.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The last care report recommended that the nursery ensure all staff understand policies and procedures, and that the premises are maintained at an adequate and comfortable temperature. The nursery now ensures all staff have read, and are familiar with the policies and procedures, to safeguard children's wellbeing. Electric fans have been placed in most rooms, and staff open the windows as necessary to maintain a comfortable temperature for children in the nursery.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since 1 April 2004 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.

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Complaints 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 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): • ensure all wires are inaccessible to children • ensure parents are aware of the full complaints procedure.

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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 there is greater opportunity for children to develop independence during everyday activities.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

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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