The Little Green Frog

The Little Green Frog

Inspection report for early years provision

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The Little Green Frog

EY287150 Unique Reference Number 18 September 2006 Inspection date Dawn Bonica Brown Inspector

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The Little Green Frog

Ashfield Primary School, Weston Lane, Otley, West Yorkshire, LS21 2DF Setting Address

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E-mail

Ruth Joy Johnson Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care, Out of School 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 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?

The Little Green Frog day care nursery opened in 2005. The nursery operates from six rooms in a purpose built building on site at Ashfield Primary School in the Otley area of Leeds. A maximum of 58 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 07.30 to 18.00 for 51 weeks of the year. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 87 children on roll, aged from three months to five years. Of these, seven receive funding for early education. The nursery currently supports children with disabilities.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The setting employs 20 members of staff. Of these, 1O hold appropriate early years qualifications and there are three members of staff working towards a qualification.

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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

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children are gaining an adequate understanding of appropriate hygiene practices through consistent hand washing routines and regular reminders to children to wash their hands. They stay healthy through staff following hygiene practices that help to prevent the spread of infection, such as cleaning rotas, wiping tables between activities and consistent good practice regarding nappy changing. However, hygiene in the children's toilet area is not consistently well maintained.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's welfare and well-being are protected through the appropriate maintenance of documentation to help them to remain healthy and procedures to protect their health. For example, children who are contagious do not attend, thus preventing the spread of contagious ailments. This acts in the best interest of children to protect all those being cared for. Children's well-being is further protected because a significant number of staff hold relevant first aid certificates. This means that they have the relevant knowledge to promptly administer first aid in the event of an accident.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are suitably nourished. They receive a balanced diet and develop a positive attitude to mealtimes so that they eat well. However, older children do not have independent access to drinking water, or have opportunities to help themselves to snacks at snack time. They benefit from an appropriate exchange of information between parents and staff so that their special dietary needs are met and their allergies are monitored.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are encouraged to be active through regular physical play in a stimulating, well planned outdoor area. Babies under two years benefit from a separate outdoor play area where they are offered a wide range of resources which extends their physical play.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children use high quality resources in a safe environment. The premises are appropriately maintained and effective heating, lighting and ventilation ensures that children enjoy activities in a well-planned setting, which gives them lots of room. However, their all round development and independence is not sufficiently well promoted as the available space is not used efficiently to encourage all children to explore their environment. For example, young babies enjoy good freedom of movement and access to a wide range of resources. However, at certain times, access to resources for some children is hindered through an over structured timetable.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are suitably protected from harm through adequate staff training, staff awareness and vigilance and appropriate safety procedures on outings. Risks to children are adequately assessed and monitored. They are gaining a suitable awareness of how to keep themselves safe. For example, they learn about road safety through activities centred on the job of the school traffic control warden. They practise road awareness in their play and gain first hand experiences of crossing roads safely on their frequent outings in the community.

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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 adequately protected from abuse through staff knowledge and understanding of child protection procedures and awareness of the signs and symptoms which would cause concern. The setting has a copy of the guidance from the Local Safeguarding Children Board and the child protection contact numbers. However, the child protection statement does not include the procedures to be followed in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff or volunteer, which is a breach of regulations.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children are happy and settled. They have good relationships with staff and play cooperatively with each other. Babies are well stimulated as they enjoy a wide range of activities, such as playing with water presented in different ways, experimenting with a range of tactile materials and lots of painting activities. They enjoy good access to a wide range of interactive resources which promote their all-round development.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

All children play with a wide range of high quality, stimulating resources, such as a puppet theatre, well-organised dressing up, a home corner with lots of pretend cooking equipment and a wide range of construction and board games. However, toddlers are not well supported to become competent learners as their creativity is hindered and their free access to resources is limited. They do not explore and re-visit activities freely as staff spend too much time changing activities. This means that they are sometimes under-stimulated as they wait for the next activity to be set out. All children enjoy listening to stories and looking at books. However, this is sometimes an unsatisfying experience for toddlers as it is used as a time-filling activity, when children are told to look at a book until staff are ready with the next activity.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Pre-school children respond well to adults' interest as they develop themes which are of special interest to them. For example, an interest in dinosaurs inspires a range of activities which are extended through a collage activity, junk modelling and culminate in children making a counting book about dinosaurs. This helps to promote their self-esteem and boost their confidence.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Staff have a satisfactory understanding of the early learning goals and cover all aspects of the early years curriculum. Children receive appropriate challenges in most areas of learning and their progress is adequately monitored and evaluated. Children benefit from good quality equipment and toys that are stimulating. However, teaching methods are over structured and too adult-led to be fully effective in helping children to learn through their experiences. Children are well behaved and respond well to appropriate strategies that promote positive behaviour. They learn by example and their achievements are encouraged with praise. Children with special needs are included and supported. Staff work together cooperatively. However, poor time management and an inappropriate focus on structure, hinders children's enjoyment at times.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children's confidence and self-esteem is suitably fostered through enjoyable circle time activities, when children are successfully encouraged to speak in a small group and to listen attentively.

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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 They are developing good relationships with each other and play cooperatively. They are well behaved and show consideration to others.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children's communication, language and literacy skills are satisfactory. They listen to stories attentively and are confident speakers. They relate events coherently and are learning to make connections between sounds and letters. However, they do not gain sufficient first hand experiences of writing for a variety of purposes through their play. There is little opportunity for spontaneous drawing and writing and few opportunities to see the appropriate use of labels in the setting.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children's understanding of numbers is satisfactory as they enjoy number rhyme songs and learn to recognise shapes through matching and sorting games. They are gaining an awareness of positioning and size through play with construction toys and make representational models through collage and junk modelling. However, they receive few opportunities to solve problems through meaningful experiences, such as helping to set the table for meals and snacks, or learning number sequence through practising counting in their routine activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children's knowledge and understanding of the world is satisfactory. They learn about diversity and beliefs through looking at festivals that are celebrated by other cultures. They learn about the passage of time through useful props, such as the 'travelling teddy'. They explore materials, such as sand, water and other tactile materials, as well as designing objects with junk materials and construction toys. They know how to operate simple equipment, such as a cassette player and a toy telephone. Children are gaining a further understanding of their environment through frequent trips to places of interest to them, such as the library and outings to feed the ducks.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children's physical development is suitably promoted. They enjoy regular outdoor play on high quality, imaginative outdoor play equipment where they practise a variety of skills, such as climbing using a rope, a ladder or steps, jumping on a trampoline and gaining spatial awareness using pedalling toys. Children know about cleaning their teeth and identify suitable clothing to match the weather through good use of visual props. They engage in activities requiring hand and eye coordination through activities, such as threading beads and use tools, such as scissors, skilfully.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children's creativity is adequately promoted. They experience a wide range of creative activities, such as collage, painting and printing. They explore a range of tactile materials and food, such as tasting and smelling fruit. They participate in cooking activities and their imagination is fostered through role play, dressing up and puppets. However, children's access to creative or tactile materials is limited to structured activities, as there are few opportunities for them to access tactile materials, such as printing and painting in their free play.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children are settled and happy. They benefit from a sensitive settling-in procedure which accommodates their individual needs. They feel secure because staff actively promote equality of opportunity through a suitable anti-bullying and anti-discriminatory policy, which is put into practice and shared with parents. Children respond well to encouragement to be kind to others

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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 because they are treated with respect. Their good behaviour is noticed, valued and encouraged with praise. Staff manage their behaviour with consistency and as a consequence, children are well behaved.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Babies and young children develop a positive image of themselves as their individual needs are met through an appropriate exchange of information between staff and parents. Children gain confidence and feel a sense of belonging as staff know the children well and value their individuality by following and promoting their special interests.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers is satisfactory. Parents understand how their children are cared for because information is shared in a variety of ways. For example, parents receive written and verbal information about their children's diet, photographs of children enjoying activities and daily updates, both written and verbal, about babies. Parents follow their children's progress in the Foundation Stage through discussions with staff, access to their children's work and encouragement to be involved in their children's learning at home. Parents are happy with the provision and feel comfortable about voicing any concerns because staff are friendly and cooperative.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children with special needs or disabilities benefit from inclusive provision so that they are effectively included in the activities provided. This is achieved because staff work with parents and other professionals to use special equipment and develop learning programmes to help children to make progress.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children are learning to value the range of people in society through child-centred activities and through using resources which reflect positive images of cultural diversity and gender. There are, however, few resources which reflect positive images of disability.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Children are suitably protected because the adults who care for them are qualified and suitable to do so. Children are cared for appropriately because staff implement a sound knowledge of child development to help them make progress. They enjoy a satisfactory level of individual attention from staff who are aware of their needs and help them feel secure and confident. They benefit from appropriate access, in most areas, to a wide range of resources and activities.

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Organisation

Children's overall welfare and well-being are adequately promoted through documentation that is appropriately maintained and organised. The provision meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Organisation

Leadership and management is satisfactory. The manager is clear about her role and has suitably high expectations of staff. Monitoring of the setting is appropriate and demonstrates a suitable level of commitment to improvement.

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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

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the provider was recommended to ensure that procedures are in place for children to visit the toilets safely and ensure that children have an appropriate range of activities and resources that promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice. The provider was further recommended to make sure that fire drills are carried out periodically and to take reasonable steps to ensure hazards to children on the premises, such as low electric sockets, are minimised.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Since the last inspection the registered person no longer provides an out of school service and the school premises are, therefore, not used by the provider. This means that children's access to the toilets is contained within the purpose built premises and is safe.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Children receive an appropriate range of activities and use resources that promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice. Children are not exposed to hazards, such as low electric sockets as these are securely covered with appropriate safety appliances. However, emergency evacuation drills remain infrequent.

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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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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.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

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

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • ensure that hygiene procedures are followed with consistency • promote children's independence through better access to drinks, snacks and resources • ensure that the child protection statement includes the procedures to be followed in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff or volunteer

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The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 • improve the outcomes for children aged two to three by using an approach in line with ‘Birth to three matters’ .

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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): • improve children's first-hand experiences of numbers through routine activities • promote children's creativity through more spontaneous access to resources • continue to develop children's understanding of writing for different purposes through their spontaneous play.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

set out in the leaflet Complaints about Ofsted Early Years: concerns or complaints about Ofsted's role in regulating and inspecting childcare and early education (HMI ref no 2599) 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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