Ysgol Gynradd Abererch

House Martins Day Care Centre

Inspection report for early years provision

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House Martins Day Care Centre

400095 Unique Reference Number 20 November 2006 Inspection date Carol-Anne Shaw Inspector

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House Martins Day Care Centre

6 St. Michaels Street, Malton, North Yorkshire, YO17 7LJ Setting Address

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E-mail

Marsha Turnbull 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?

House Martins Day Care Centre was registered in 1999 to provide full day care. It is a privately owned provision managed by the owner. It operates from a Victorian grade one listed building in Malton town centre. The accommodation for the children is provided on two levels and consists of a self-contained baby room on the ground floor in the main building, a toddler room in the adjacent converted barn and four rooms for children aged two to over five on the first floor. Toilet facilities are available in this area with office and kitchen facilities on the ground floor. There is an enclosed outdoor area at the rear of the premises with equipment for outdoor use.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery serves the local community and surrounding areas and is registered to provide care for 30 children aged from nought to under eight years, 12 of whom may be under two years. There are currently 58 children on role including 16 funded children. Children attend for a

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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 variety of sessions. The nursery is open from 08.00 to 17.30 Monday to Friday all year round with the exception of Bank Holidays. The nursery welcomes children who have any special educational needs and children who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are nine full time and five part time members of staff working with the children. The majority have early years qualifications to Level 3 and two have Level 2; two staff are working towards a early years degree. One member of staff is a trained drama specialist. In addition there are clerical staff, a qualified cook and a domestic helper. The nursery receives support from the local authority. The group are members of the Pre School Learning Alliance and have successfully taken part in the North Yorkshire quality assurance scheme.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children demonstrate a positive attitude to their well-being. The staff work to the clear policies and procedures in place meeting the children’s physical, nutritional and health needs. They provide the children with good guidance and support; children gain a good understanding of hygiene and become increasingly independent in their personal care. The older children are confident in accessing the facilities, for example, washing hands before snack time and after creative activities. Children are developing their independence in personal care and are becoming aware of the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have very good opportunities to extend and develop their physical control in the well organised daily indoor and outdoor experiences. This is supported by the staff having a very good awareness of individual children’s development through observations and assessments. They have a very good understanding of how children develop physically. They encourage and support children to try out new skills; children are confident and are able to set their own limits within the safe environment. For example, when balancing on the equipment, learn that putting your arms out to the side make it much easier to get to the end without falling off. The older children are developing a positive attitude to physical exercise. They enjoy using the outdoor area with its changing challenges. Children use the outside area to effectively support their learning, accessing a wide range of play activities linked to the curriculum.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have a good range of healthy options throughout the day; they enjoy a choice of fruits at snack time. Lunch is a very social occasion with nutritious, fresh food cooked on the premises by the qualified cook. This is served in small groups, with the younger children eating in their own rooms to ensure individual children’s routines are followed. Older children have a very good understanding of why they eat healthy foods and how it relates to their bodies. Effective liaison with parents ensures children’s individual dietary needs are fully met. Good attention is paid to managing children’s cultural and medical needs.

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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

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Risks of accidental injury to children are minimised because staff are vigilant and use good risk assessment systems to reduce potential hazards. The children learn about protecting themselves, for example, when playing outside the children are aware they do not go on the equipment until it has been checked by staff and dried. One of the younger children informed the inspector, when helping to dry the rocker, that 'It is very slippy when wet, you can fall off, you know'.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children access a wide range of good quality, safe and suitable toys, resources and equipment, all very appropriate to their age and stage of development. The equipment is suitably set out to enable children to make choices. However, in some areas staff do too much for the children, limiting opportunities for children to self-select. For example, some creative activities are set out for the children with all the required resources, limiting their choices.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are very well protected by staff, who overall have a good understanding of the child protection policies and procedures. All staff have attended training and are fully aware of their responsibilities relating to safeguarding children, and give priority to children’s welfare.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are settled and happy in their surroundings. They enjoy their time at the nursery. Children develop well because staff are confident and skilled, using their knowledge and understanding to promote children’s development. Staff are motivated and interested in the children as individuals. The good staff ratios enable children to have lots of adult support.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children arrive happy and eager to participate, they part from their parents and happily wave goodbye. Key staff know the children well and are sensitive to their individual needs. The close and caring relationships increase children’s trust and help them develop confidence and build self-esteem. Early communication skills are well supported through effective adult-child interactions. Children are beginning to make sense of the world and express their ideas through a mix of different planned activities and free play that supports children’s learning.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

There is a positive bond and appropriate physical contact between the younger children and staff, which increases children's well-being and sense of self. There are opportunities for the children to express their creative ideas and be involved with a wide variety of activities and experiences. The children enjoy the many play activities and explore paints, textures, music and songs. Overall, this provides the children with an environment which promotes development and good care. The nursery progresses the development of the under threes in a systematic way. Assessments of progress are completed. However, these are not yet fully linked to the 'Birth to three matters' framework. The staff have completed training in this area and are aware this is a way forward.

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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 The quality of teaching and learning is good. Staff demonstrate a sound knowledge of the principles of early years education and use the Foundation Stage to ensure all areas of children’s learning are developed through play. They plan and provide effective and realistic challenges for most of the children. The activities are well organised and supported with relevant resources and equipment. A wide range of teaching methods are used, this ensures children learn across all areas of the curriculum. Children are motivated, confident, self-assured and keen to participate. This is promoted by staff's enthusiasm and interest in them. Children work well together and follow simple rules to support sharing and safety. The more able children assist others in accessing resources, helping with coats and tidying away the equipment and resources.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children use their imagination in role play situations, for example; a group of children playing at making dinner, lots of stirring of pans and serving out onto plates interspersed with lots of cups of tea. They use their creative play to demonstrate their sense of the world around them. There are very good displays of the children's work showing a variety of resources and methods used by them, such as collage, models and free painting. The work done to support the topic 'amazing animals' has covered many learning areas of the curriculum. For example, in physical activities, pretending to be different animals was very much enjoyed by the children, who were enthusiastic to show their hopping and jumping skills.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children communicate and express themselves very well, both with each other, staff and visiting adults. Interaction is appropriate and staff encourage children to share their weekend experiences at circle time. Children are developing their language and thinking skills as well as confidence and independence. They use resources for mark making in their play, and learn to recognise letters through displays, labelling and books. Children are gaining confidence in their mathematical language. They use numbers and solve simple problems in their everyday activities, for example, when playing in the water counting how many letters stick on the side. They learn sequencing through patterns and observing the life of the butterfly, supported by a visit to Tropical World.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Physical skills are extended and supported effectively with good access to outside play opportunities, use of music and movement, access to instruments and ability to use a wide variety of tools and resources. Children explore and investigate their surroundings through a variety of activities, for example, looking after the plants, growing seeds, feeding the birds and outings to places of interest. Children access resources to support their understanding of technology, they are confident users of the computers. The use of the torches outside after dark are a favourite time for the older children, they show excitement while they learn about wintertime and dark nights.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The assessment of children's learning is comprehensive, covering all aspects of learning. This is done by the key workers who know the children very well and their individual needs. The range of activities provide appropriate support and challenges for the children overall. However, assessments are not used fully to effectively plan for the children's next steps in their learning for all children. This can limit the challenge for more able children to extend their skills. The planning for children with special educational needs is effective and builds on what children know and can do.

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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. Parents and children are welcomed to the setting. The staff value children's individuality and respect parents' views and contribution to the care provided. Younger children’s home routines are fully discussed and staff support them appropriately. The children’s behaviour is very good, the staff show a consistent and caring approach to managing behaviour. The older children follow simple rules and know the routines and boundaries in place. Children share and show respect for others, they take turns and show good manners, saying please and thank you. They learn to negotiate and take responsibility for their own behaviour. The older children support the younger children.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children have very good opportunities to learn about the world around them through topics and resources that promote diversity in all areas. Their own and other cultures are effectively supported with a good range of activities and resources. As a result children's spiritual moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents is good. The key worker system provides parents with a consistent contact on a daily basis. The very good partnership with parents contributes significantly to children’s well-being in the group. Parents' views are sought through discussion, on a regular basis throughout the time they attend. Effective systems are in place to ensure all parents are kept informed of how their child is progressing in their development and learning. Children benefit from the involvement of parents in projects and topics, which contributes to their good health, development and learning.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children’s care is enhanced by the efficient management of the setting. The good organisation of the nursery provides a welcoming environment for children to play and learn. There is a wide range of very suitable policies and procedures in place to support the management of the nursery. The premises in all areas are planned to support and promote children’s development and learning. All families are supported and individual children’s care needs are followed. The staff ratios ensure children have good support; this allows children to experience the many interesting and different activities throughout the day. The use of time, space and resources enhances children's learning in all areas.

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Organisation

The children benefit from the staff having a sound knowledge of how children learn. Detailed procedures are in place for induction and the ongoing training of staff. They have a commitment to improvement and personal development; this underpins the care and welfare of the children in the setting.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of the educational provision is good. The monitoring of the nursery education is done by the owner. It is linked to the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. This is done systematically and informs the future development plans for the provision. The staff show enthusiasm and work effectively as a team to ensure the provision meets the needs of all the children who attend.

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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 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

Since the last care and nursery inspection, the provider has made improvements.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the provider was asked to ensure children’s hand washing routines were encouraged. The nursery has been proactive with topics about personal care routines and the importance of good hygiene. Children now routinely wash their hands.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The provider was also asked to ensure the documentation relating to accident recording was fully completed. All accident records are completed appropriately.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the previous nursery inspection the provider was asked to promote children’s independence at mealtimes and creativity, develop children’s understanding of health and bodily awareness and use counting and simple calculation in everyday activities.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The staff have reorganised these areas, enabling children to be independent at meal times and when being creative, they have many opportunities to develop awareness of health, number and use simple calculation in everyday activities.

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Improvements since the last inspection

They were also asked to ensure that staff worked consistently and had appropriate support. The staff continue to attend training to support their roles and new systems are in place to ensure consistency.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The recommendations have been followed resulting in the nursery meeting the needs of the children they care for.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the 1 April 2004 Ofsted has investigated one complaint that required the provider to take action to meet the National Standards.

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Complaints since the last inspection

A concern was raised in relation to Standard 1: Suitable person. A visit was made to the provision on 6 September 2004 to discuss the issues raised. Two actions were raised under Standard 12: Partnership with Parents and Standard 14: Documentation. The provider complied with these actions. The provider remained qualified for registration. A record of the complaint is kept on file by the provider.

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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

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 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): • continue to develop the assessment and planning linking with the 'Birth to three matters' framework for the younger 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 links between assessment and planning, ensuring there is sufficient challenge for all children • continue to develop children’s free access to the full range of activities and resources available to support their play and learning.

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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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