St Cuthberts Catholic Primary School, Carlisle

Yellow Brick House (Woosehill)

Inspection report for early years provision

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Yellow Brick House (Woosehill)

148700 Unique Reference Number 13 November 2006 Inspection date Claudia Padfield Inspector

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Yellow Brick House (Woosehill)

Chestnut Park Pavilion, Ruskin Way,Woosehill, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG41 3BP

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E-mail

Charlotte Ann Louise Wilkinson 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 outstanding. 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 outstanding.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Yellow Brick House Woosehill opened in 1989. It operates from a large open plan room in a community building on the outskirts of a private housing estate. The nursery has access to a kitchen, toilets and a large fully enclosed outdoor area. The nursery serves the needs of the local families; the intake reflecting the local community.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery opens five days a week, term time only. The session times are mornings 09:05 to 12:05 and afternoons 12:30 to 15:10. The nursery is also open for a lunchtime session from 12:00 to 13:00 on a Tuesday and Thursday.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are 12 members of staff who work across all the age groups, most hold suitable childcare qualifications and many attend and update their childcare qualifications on a regular basis.

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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 is registered to provide 26 places for children aged between two and five years old, of which no more than 20 children may be aged under three years old. There are currently 62 children on roll. Children attend a variety of sessions each week. The setting has a special needs co-ordinator and is able to support children with special needs and English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

In addition the nursery has input from a qualified teacher via the Early Years Development Childcare Partnership.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is outstanding. Children's health and well being are very effectively supported by an experienced and knowledgeable staff team. Children successfully learn the importance of personal hygiene, through good levels of staff support, timely discussions and effective daily routines where they develop their independence. Pictorial posters in the toilet area act as useful prompts to remind children to flush the toilet and wash their hands after toileting. They relish the independence and eagerly demonstrate how capable they are.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are well nourished and enjoy healthy fruit snacks, which successfully contribute to their well-being, healthy growth and development. Children help staff to prepare the snack and then sit confidently with friends pouring drinks and selecting the fruit or pita bread. Through discussion with staff and friends children are growing an awareness about healthy eating . Drinking water is always available and the provider has effective systems in place to ensure information is sought from parents regarding children’s individual dietary needs. These individual requirements are respected and followed to safeguard children and accommodate their needs. Staff successfully promote children’s understanding of healthy eating through regular discussion at snack times, through resources and displays which children observe and comment on, explaining what is happening in the photographs.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children take part in daily physical play which helps them to make very good progress in their physical development. Children are very well supported by staff as they assist children in gaining increasing control of their bodies and give them the confidence to try new experiences. Their coordination and balancing skills are developing particularly well and they practise and refine these on large plastic construction equipment, walking along and over the walkway and using the variety of small equipment within the garden. Children also demonstrate skill on bikes and tricycles, skilfully manoeuvring to avoid one another and some are able to pedal both forwards and backwards.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is outstanding. Children are cared for in a bright, colourful, welcoming and safe indoor and outdoor environment which is suitable for the purpose. Risk assessments are in place and very well implemented policies and procedures ensure that the children are fully protected and able to take calculated

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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 risks during their play, which increases their independence and self esteem. Risk assessments are ongoing and highly successful in identifying and minimising all potential hazards inside and outdoors. Children have free access to a varied range of toys and equipment that are of very good quality. These are organised very effectively in clearly defined areas and in low level storage units from which the children can safely select.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Effective deployment of staff ensures that children are well supervised and supported. Staff are constantly alert to teaching children how to keep themselves safe and use clear explanation to help them learn about what is dangerous. For example during the preparation of snacks the children learn how to safely handle the knife and cut up the pita bread. They do this with skill. Children are also reminded to sit on chairs properly and not rock on them in case they fall off and hurt themselves.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff have an excellent understanding of their roles and responsibilities within the local authority procedures to safeguard children. They are aware of the possible signs and symptoms of abuse and know the procedures for reporting such concerns. These measures contribute to keeping children safe and mean that staff can act promptly and appropriately in the child's best interest.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is outstanding. Children are happy, confident and settled in the environment. They are well supported by staff and are helped to achieve through thoughtful discussions and excellent opportunities to practise new skills that interest them. For example a small group of children showed an interest in policemen. Staff extended this opportunity with an outdoor police station. The children used the clip board 'to take down important information' They were then able to take finger prints of the arrested people. Using walkie-talkies they arrested staff and put them in jail with relish. The children gained an understanding of the duties of a policeman and work cooperatively during their role play. Interaction is effective, staff praise children regularly, listen to what they are saying and value their contributions. This results in strong, warm and caring relationships and children that enjoy and achieve.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children enter the setting confidently and quickly settle into the familiar routine. They eagerly ask the key staff who are managing the small group time what they will be doing for the day. Staff know their children well and plan the range of activities according to their needs and developmental milestones. The provision of a broad range of stimulating opportunities for the children to explore and investigate ensures they are interested and use their initiative well, selecting their own resources and experiences as well as participating in planned activities. Staff allow children the time to develop their own ideas and offer regular praise and encouragement, which builds their self-esteem.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is outstanding. Children make excellent progress towards the early learning goals because staff have a comprehensive knowledge of the Foundation Stage. This ensures that sessions are planned effectively to include a wide range of activities, whilst their clear knowledge of individual children enables appropriate challenges and clear

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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 learning intentions to be incorporated into the curriculum. All staff are good at communicating with children and use effective questioning techniques to successfully stimulate thinking and extend knowledge. Behaviour is exemplary; children are polite, well mannered and demonstrate a clear awareness of boundaries within the nursery. They are able to negotiate and discuss the rules of a game, working through issues to reach a compromise.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children’s communication skills are highly developed. Children with English as an additional language are appropriately supported. The children are very proud of their achievements and seek out staff to share examples of their pictures and creations. For example, at small group time children create the invitations and plan a ball. This is continued during free play as they dress up and at the end of the session all the children deliver the invitations and have ball with excellent extension of ideas from the staff team.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children enjoy self selecting their own experiences from the free range options available and this helps to develop their decision making skills. Good use is made of both the indoor and outdoor environments and staff respond well to the children as they listen to their ideas and suggestions and value their input. For example, children extend the Ball theme further with small world figures and act out the story changing the dragon into a lion; showing extremely well developed imaginary skills.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children enjoy exploratory and sensory activities, such as sand, water, and play dough. Children construct with a purpose in mind and use their imaginations well in their creativity. For example, the children played purposefully with a selection of cooking materials mixing and anticipating what would happen. They were able to freely combine a selection of liquids and solids. They competently use a wide range of tools which require hand-eye coordination using the pipette to transfer liquid and different sized spoons to mix ingredients

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is outstanding. Staff promote an inclusive provision and all children are positively welcomed and their individual needs catered for. Children are well supported by the staff team who work closely with parents and professionals to meet the children’s needs. Children continuously learn about themselves, each other and the world around them through well planned activities and accessing a good range of resources, which reflect diversity and acknowledge cultural differences. Children are inquisitive and re-enacted the story of Rama and Sita with a reversible puppet and demonstrated the dancing to staff showing how important the hand movements were.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children's behaviour is exemplary, they understand expected codes of behaviour and discuss their thoughts and wishes with staff and friends. They resolve areas of conflict through discussion about the possible ways forward and produce a waiting list for items that are very popular such as the walkie-talkies. As a result, children have an excellent understanding of right and wrong and show care and concern for their environment, the resources and one another. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers is outstanding. Parents have clear information about the setting, policies and procedures, through newsletters, the parents’ notice board and daily

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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 anecdotal observations from staff. The staff actively seek parents’ views about their children’s needs and interests before they start, and on a regular basis throughout their time in the setting. Parents are given comprehensive information about the Foundation Stage at termly meeting with the child's key worker. They discuss and share observations regarding the child's achievements which is made real by snap shot photographs of the child during the observations. These records are readily available for parents to comment on and add to if they wish.

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Organisation

The organisation is outstanding. The well organised and welcoming environment contributes to children's high levels of independence and actively increases their confidence. The activities are attractively presented and effective deployment of staff allows children to initiate their own play and learning and receive the appropriate support. All of the required documentation is in place and is very well organised. Policies and procedures are successfully adhered to in practice to support the care of children.

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Organisation

Children benefit from being cared for by a staff team who all hold appropriate childcare qualifications. Recruitment and vetting procedures ensure that children are well protected and cared for by staff with good knowledge and understanding of child development. Induction procedures are thorough and ensure that staff have a good awareness of expected practice. Regular staff appraisals and monitoring systems are used effectively to ascertain continued suitability. The staff team attend regular in house training to ensure they are up to date with regulatory requirements and information.

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Organisation

The leadership and management is Outstanding. There is an exemplary level of commitment from staff who work effectively together as a team to provide excellent quality care and education. Management support staff very well and staff are actively encouraged to attend training, which in turn benefits the children and the provision. All staff have a high regard for the well-being of the children and ensure that policies and procedures work well in practice. The provision is proactive in identifying their own areas for development and regularly seek advice and support from the local authority to continuously improve. Overall, the provision meets the needs of the range of the children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the setting was asked to ensure all staff members were fully conversant with the Care Standards and use them to balance the whole spectrum of children's needs; this has been fully addressed by the staff team who know all the children extremely well and plan for each child's individual care and education. Staff were asked to address the registration and documentation systems for accidents. Systems have now been updated and the accident forms are now closely evaluated to inform future risk assessments, therefore minimising potential risks to children. This has also effectively ensured that all children are aware of safe evacuation procedures and practise as required. Staff are highly effective in their deployment to ensure the children stay on task and no longer have opportunities for their behaviour to deteriorate; therefore excellent improvement has been made.

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Improvements since the last inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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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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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 outstanding. 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 outstanding.

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The quality and standards of the care

No recommendations for improvement are made because the quality and standards of care are outstanding.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

No recommendations for improvement are made because the quality and standards of nursery education are outstanding.

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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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