Abbey Hulton Primary School

Puddleducks Day Nursery (Baldock) Ltd Inspection report for early years provision

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146487 Unique Reference Number 26 June 2007 Inspection date Susan Ennis / Anne Schurek Inspector

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Butterfield House, Hitchin Street, Baldock, Hertfordshire, SG7 6AE Setting Address

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E-mail

Puddleducks Childcare 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?

Puddleducks Day Nursery (Baldock) Ltd is a privately owned day nursery. It opened in 1995 and operates from a converted building situated in Baldock, Hertfordshire. 78 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 07.30 to 18.15 for 52 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 110 children aged from three months to under five years on roll. Of these 25 children receive funding for nursery education. Children attend from within a wide catchment area. The nursery supports children with disabilities and/or learning difficulties and can also support children who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery employs 26 staff. Of these, 14 of the staff, including the manager hold appropriate early years qualifications and one member of staff is 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 good. Children are cared for in a warm, clean environment. There are effective daily hygiene practices which minimise the spread of infection and promote children's health, for example, staff wear gloves and aprons when changing nappies and clean the changing mat after each use. Children's immediate welfare is effectively promoted as staff are qualified in first aid and comprehensive policies regarding medication, accidents and sick children are in place. Children are developing a generally good understanding of the importance of hygiene practices, for example, they wash their hands after using the toilet and use antibacterial hand wash before eating discussing the strawberry smell of the gel as they do so. However, there is an inconsistent approach to discussing the relevance of these measures with the children limiting the impact on their learning. Children's special requirements with regard to health and diet are very well documented.

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Helping children to be healthy

Staff ensure that children's dietary requirements are strictly observed and have developed clear procedures including giving children with specific dietary needs a red plate alerting all staff to their particular requirements and checking with the kitchen staff if queries arise. Children are offered healthy and nutritious snacks and meals. These are prepared on the premises on a daily basis using fresh ingredients and include a balanced range of all food types. Children's independence is encouraged as they help give out the plates for lunch and serve up their own meals and drinks. They are becoming aware of healthy foods by, for example, discussing why sweet corn is a healthy option and growing their own strawberries, spring onions and radishes hopefully to be eaten at a later stage.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy a wide range of physical activities which contribute to their good health. They develop control of their bodies and improve their physical skills and co-ordination as they participate in the activities. These include balancing bean bags on their feet, music and movement sessions, crawling through the play tunnel and using the slide and ride-on toys. Children have many opportunities to develop fine control and co-ordination through using a range of implements such as pencils and paint brushes. The developmental needs of younger children are clearly understood and promoted because staff have a good understanding of the 'Birth to three matters' framework. Children starting to crawl are encouraged to do so by staff shaking a bottle filled with coloured water and glitter in front of them encouraging them to reach for it.

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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 welcoming environment where their work is creatively displayed and resources are well organised and easily accessible. Their safety is viewed as paramount and staff carry out daily safety checks, identifying any hazards and taking positive steps to remove or minimise them. For example, floors are immediately wiped after the children wash their hands ensuring that they do not slip and there are notices around the nursery reminding staff to replace socket covers after use. Children are very well protected as staff are security conscious, making sure that all external doors are secure and diligently checking all visitors. Clear procedures regarding lost and uncollected children provide further protection. Children have a good understanding about taking responsibility and keeping themselves and others safe. They are consistently given clear explanations and reminders by staff, for example, on how to walk up

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

and down the stairs safely holding onto the banisters and looking where they are going. When children start running in pre-school they are reminded that 'We walk in nursery don't we?

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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 Running is for the garden.' Children's understanding of fire safety is also well promoted as regular fire drills are held at different times of the day when the children are in different parts of the building. This ensures that they experience using all the various emergency exits throughout the nursery.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's safety is further promoted through the provision of appropriate equipment such as correctly sized chairs and tables. They are able to select toys and activities from a range of good quality resources. Staff ensure that these are stored appropriately with picture or word labels on the drawers and boxes helping children independently choose what they want to play with. Toys and equipment are checked regularly ensuring that they are clean and suitable for the children to use.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's welfare is suitably promoted as some staff have attended child protection training and most have a sound understanding of the issues and procedures involved. However, as this is not consistent throughout the nursery, children's welfare is potentially affected should child protection concerns arise.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are happy and settled, enjoying their time at the nursery. They are keen to participate in the activities and play opportunities provided. All children are confident in their relationships with each other and with staff, happily looking to them for support and reassurance as they need it. They happily chat to staff sharing information from home and about their families. For example, whilst discussing different types of fruit children state 'My mummy has purple raisins.' Children's work and photos are displayed, helping them to feel valued, secure and confident within the setting. Babies and children settle well and are secure in their relationships with staff because of the effective settling-in procedure and key-worker system within the nursery. This enables parents and staff to discuss the appropriate level of care for each child ensuring that all have their individual needs met.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Careful planning of activities for all age groups ensures that children are consistently offered a range of opportunities, which are linked to their individual needs and capabilities, thus ensuring the promotion of all areas of development. Staff carefully assess children and note any areas which require further work and support, planning appropriate activities and ensuring that development is balanced. Staff make good use of open questions when working with the children, making the most of opportunities to extend their learning and encourage them to think further. For example, whilst playing with toy animals staff ask 'What animal is that?' and 'What noise does the sheep make?' to which the children reply 'Baa baa'. Good use is made of the whole nursery providing stimulating areas in which the children play with enthusiasm including the messy play room and conservatory. During a session in the messy play room babies

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

thoroughly enjoy using their hands to spread the paint onto paper as well onto the member of staff sitting close by.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children are making good progress and their overall development is promoted because staff have a good knowledge of the curriculum for the Foundation Stage, planning and adapting activities appropriately. Children's progress in all areas is well balanced as staff use good methods for assessing them. However, as children's observation records are not continually updated their progress is not easily identified, potentially

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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 leading to a lack of challenge and further progression. Planning of activities is practical and thorough and staff check that all areas of learning are covered across the funded period.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children enjoy a wide range of activities which include opportunities to participate in role play, crafts, construction and physical play. Staff use their experience and knowledge to ensure that children are purposefully occupied and stimulated. Children are aware of the opportunities offered and are able to feel involved in the daily activities as they are given choices about which resources to use and which areas of the pre-school to play in. For example, children choose to play in the music room on the computer. They select which program to play and patiently wait whilst they all have a turn navigating the mouse through the different screens.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are confident and try new activities with enthusiasm and interest such as when experimenting with paint outside. They all eagerly line up waiting their turn and discussing which colour of paint they will use. They have a clear understanding of their own needs and are confident in meeting them independently using the bathroom and pouring their drinks at snack time. They have good relationships with their peers and with staff, listening carefully to instructions and supporting each other in their play by. During a game using hoops and bean bags children encourage each other by saying 'Come on. You can do it. Well done.' They learn new vocabulary throughout the day and speak with growing confidence and control. They enjoy stories and rhymes predicting the next sentence or page of the book. Children enthusiastically retell the story of 'The old woman who swallowed a fly' correctly predicting the order in which

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

the animals are eaten. They make good use of the opportunities to write using an old diary to write their shopping list. The written word is effectively promoted throughout the setting encouraging the children to point at, for example, photographs of themselves and relate these to the written names underneath.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children enjoy counting and using mathematical language in their daily play and conversations such as cutting the fruit for snack into halves and quarters and then counting how many pieces they have. They are learning number recognition as they point to the numbers by name on a wall display and say aloud the numbers on the till in the imaginary room. They are starting to use calculation confidently stating that 'There's two boys and three girls and that makes five.' Children have a good appreciation and understanding of the natural world, promoted through opportunities including planting and growing their own vegetables and fruit and looking at the worms they come across whilst doing so. They enjoy many opportunities to develop their construction skills from making a plane in junk modelling to using big and small shapes to make a lorry.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children's physical development is actively promoted. They enjoy music and movement sessions learning to stretch and warm up their muscles correctly. They move confidently around the setting, negotiating the furniture and allowing each other space to sit down. Their fine motor skills are developed through exploring different mediums and activities such as sponge painting, potato printing and making papier-mâché hot air balloons. Children enthusiastically develop their imagination skills by using the dressing-up clothes and small world resources to express their thoughts. They develop use of their senses through topics asking them ' What can you feel, smell, see and hear?' and by using textured resources such as custard and shaving foam. They are developing their sense of rhythm by participating in action songs and practising for the end of year graduation concert.

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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. All children are able to feel welcome and comfortable because staff value and respect their individuality and take care in getting to know them and their routines. Children are offered a wide range of opportunities which promote their understanding of society and increase their awareness of other cultures and ways of life. These include a monthly special world day covering different aspects of life in a particular country, for example, the children ate a Chinese meal in celebration of Chinese New Year and learnt some Irish dancing for Ireland Day. Children learn about other languages as some signs around the nursery are written in French and a Spanish teacher visits on a regular basis.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children are kind and considerate to each other and to staff. Their behaviour is good as staff use appropriate strategies such as reasoning and positive praise. Children's self-esteem and confidence is promoted as they earn awards, displayed on the monkey tree, for achievements such as sitting well throughout a group story session. They are given clear explanations about the boundaries in place and are learning to take responsibility for their own actions. During a parachute game they are tactfully reminded that the game will not work if they do not calm down therefore preventing someone from getting hurt. They respond very well to staff, and the positive approach and effective staff role modelling ensures that children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. Children who have disabilities and/or learning difficulties have their requirements identified and met as there is a clear policy relating to this.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Staff ensure that this is implemented, working with individual children and parents to make sure that all are included in the activities and daily routines. Staff are skilled in ensuring that all children are able to participate at a level appropriate to them and are offered activities and opportunities which reflect their needs and abilities and promote their development.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The quality of the setting's partnership with parents and carers is good. They are given clear information about the setting when their child starts and as an ongoing process throughout the child's time at the nursery. Parents are kept well informed of their child's progress through topical displays, newsletters, regular discussions with staff and parents' evenings. There are informative notice boards containing information about a number of issues including staff qualifications, the weekly menu and the complaint's procedure. Parents are also able to access clear information about the 'Birth to three matters' publication as it is displayed throughout the nursery and information sheets are made readily available at parent's evening. For parents of children in receipt of early education, folders relating to the six areas of learning and the Curriculum for the foundation stage are easily accessible and informative. Parents are actively

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Helping children make a positive contribution

encouraged in becoming involved in their child's learning. Doing some form of home work is encouraged and receives very positive feedback from the parents involved. Parents also complete regular questionnaires that management act upon. This positive attitude ensures that parents' views are valued, standards are maintained and high quality care is provided for each child.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Overall, children's needs are met. Their play opportunities are greatly enhanced by the good organisation of space enabling them to experience a varied and stimulating range of activities and resources throughout the day. Children's welfare, care and safety are promoted through the staff's experience and practical knowledge of the nursery's policies and procedures. Children's care is further enhanced by the effective staff induction programme which ensures that all staff are supported, have the relevant knowledge and are able to work appropriately in all areas 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 the setting. There are robust procedures in place for checking that all staff are suitable to work with children and non-vetted staff are not left unattended with the children. Children's records are kept up to date and contain all relevant information. Staff records are detailed and updated through regular supervision meetings and appraisals.

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Organisation

The quality of leadership and management is good and children benefit from a well-managed setting. Both the registered person and manager of the nursery act as positive role models motivating staff with their very visual presence and enthusiasm for their work. Staff actively respond attending additional training, expressing their ideas and demonstrating their interest for their work. The manager makes effective use of the self-evaluation system producing action plans for change and further improvement. Sessions are well planned, with a balanced range of activities which cover all areas of development. Good planning ensures that resources are well prepared enabling the children to move seamlessly between activities without having to wait. Children's progress is tracked through assessments and parents are kept well informed of this.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last care inspection the nursery was asked to provide more suitable furniture to meet the children's needs. This related to the book area, which is now fitted with a selection of floor cushions for children to relax on whilst reading a book and resting. The nursery was also asked to ensure that parent's signatures were obtained for entries in the accident book and to ensure good hygiene practises with regard to outdoor shoes in the baby room. All accident records are correctly maintained and staff and visitors remove their outdoor shoes before entering the baby room. Therefore ensuring children's safety and protection.

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Improvements since the last inspection

With regard to nursery education the nursery was asked to increase children's independence skills when selecting activities and resources. Children now very much choose which activities to enjoy giving them ownership and a sense of belonging. The nursery was also asked to develop the balance between adult and child initiated activities. This is now met with one adult initiated activity each session with all other time very much child led again developing children's independence and spontaneous play.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since 1 April 2004 Ofsted received two complaints that required the provider to take action in order to meet the National standards:

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Complaints since the last inspection

On the 7 February 2006 Ofsted received a concern regarding the safety of some children on an outing. Ofsted conducted an unannounced visit to the provision on the 16 February 2006 to investigate these concerns under National Standard 2- Organisation, 3- Care, Learning and Play, 6- Safety, 12- Working in partnerships with parents and carers and 14- Documentation. The investigation established that an incident had occurred whilst walking the children to the park, but their safety was not compromised. However, the provider had not met the National Standards as they had not recorded this incident. Therefore two actions and one recommendation were imposed. Ofsted received a satisfactory response to the actions set on the 1 March 2006. The provider remains qualified for registration.

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Complaints since the last inspection

In October 2006 Ofsted received concerns relating to National Standards 2 - Organisation, Standard 3- Care, Learning and Play, Standard 6- Safety, Standard 7- Health and Hygiene, Standard 8 - Food and Drink and Standard 12 - Partnership with parents. These involved concerns regarding care, food and safety. The provider was set actions and a recommendation

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Complaints 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 by Ofsted. Ofsted was satisfied that by taking these steps the provider would meet the National Standards and remained qualified for registration.

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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

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • ensure that staff promote and raise children's awareness of good hygiene practices in order to prevent the spread of infection • ensure that child protection procedures are known and understood by all staff in order to protect children.

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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 the recording of observations to further demonstrate children's progression within the stepping stones and to assist in planning their further development and challenge.

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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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