Sunshine Corner Neighbourhood Nursery

Sunshine Corner Neighbourhood Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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Sunshine Corner Neighbourhood Nursery

EY282231 Unique Reference Number 16 November 2006 Inspection date Cilla Rachel Mullane Inspector

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Sunshine Corner Neighbourhood Nursery

Aylesham CP School, Attlee Avenue, Aylesham, Canterbury, Kent, CT3 3BS

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E-mail

Pre-School Learning Alliance 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 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?

Sunshine Corner Nursery opened in 2004. It operates from a purpose designed building in the grounds of Aylesham Primary School. The premises consist of a main nursery room, with toilets and a kitchen, a baby unit, with a sleeping room, a kitchen and changing area. There is also a staff room, office, adult toilets, and a parents' room, which is also used by staff working with small groups of children. A maintained nursery operates within the nursery, with 26 funded children receiving Nursery Education alongside the nursery's pre-school children. Babies have their own outside play area, and toddlers and pre-school children share the reception class play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Sunshine Corner serves the local area. There are currently 76 children from birth to under five years on role. Funding for Nursery Education is received for three and four year olds. A small number of school aged children attend for breakfast, and for care after school.

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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 setting supports children with learning difficulties and disabilities, and those who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery opens five days a week all year round. Sessions are from 08.50 to 11.20, and from 12.20 to 14.50. Children can attend all day from 07.45 to 18.00.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are 16 staff, including the manager and her deputy, a nursery teacher, an administrator and a cook. Most staff have early years qualifications to NVQ level 2 or 3. The early years teacher works with the funded children.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The setting receives support from a teacher from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP).

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Health and hygiene procedures and precautions within the nursery effectively protect children. For example, staff consistently use disposable gloves and aprons during nappy changing routines, reducing the spread of infection between children. Children are learning that it is important to keep themselves clean, singing songs about washing their hands, and running to the washbasins to wash their hands before snacks without being reminded. Activities such as looking at cleaning their teeth help children learn about personal hygiene. Sick children are well cared for, because all staff have first aid qualifications, parents are contacted to collect children who become unwell, and relevant health authorities are informed promptly of contagious diseases. Good hygienic practice around the preparation of meals ensures that children receive food which has been carefully prepared. The experienced cook protects children well, for example, by using

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Helping children to be healthy

temperature probes to check the food, by regularly checking fridge temperatures, by using colour coded cloths, chopping boards and knives, and by labelling cooked food.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children receive healthy and nutritious food and drink which meets their individual needs, because staff are aware of their special diets and allergies. Children with serious allergies can be catered for because staff seek appropriate training, for example, they have been trained in the use of the epi-pen.

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Helping children to be healthy

All children benefit from frequent opportunities to play outside in the outside play area, and all take part in physical activities both indoors and out. Staff make the most of opportunities such as snack time to discuss with children the importance of a having a healthy lifestyle. Children develop their physical skills using a range of smaller equipment, such as bats and balls. More challenging equipment includes balancing beams and 'bucket stilts'. Babies and toddlers have their own designated outside covered area, which can also be enclosed in bad weather. Therefore, very young children also benefit from fresh air, and opportunities to develop their large muscles, for example, when they climb and slide on soft play equipment

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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. The premises are very welcoming. Children and parents are greeted warmly by staff as they enter the nursery. Displays of children's work show them that it is valued; and lending libraries for children and adults, and displays of relevant information create points of interest. In the nursery, all the toys and equipment are accessible for the children to choose what they want to play with. The room is stimulating for children, because an exciting range of activities are prepared to attract their interest, such as a well equipped home and book corner, and a pretend travel agent's office. Good and frequent use is made of the outside are, which is shared with the school's reception class, and children can often move freely in and outdoors. An area of the nursery is sectioned off for the two to three year olds so they can spend time working quietly and closely with staff. The baby area is sectioned off from the main nursery, and a cosier

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

environment has been created for the little ones.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are kept safe at the nursery, for example during arrivals and collections parents are only let into the building only when recognised by staff. However, despite reminders, parents sometimes hold the main door open for the next person, who may not be recognized. This compromises children's safety. Fire safety procedures are good: drills on different days of the week help to ensure that all staff and children take part, and know the procedure. Good use is made of risk assessments indoors and outdoors, where issues such as security are identified and sensible action taken. Children are further protected when staff discuss safety with children, and help them to keep themselves safe, for example, talking about wearing seatbelts on a pretend plane, and demonstrating how to use hammers safely when making cars.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

All staff have had recent training regarding child protection, helping to ensure that they know what to do if they were concerned about a child. Staff know about the signs and symptoms of abuse, and where to go for support and advice. Children are further protected because staff accurately record accidents which happen in the children's own homes.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children enjoy their time at nursery, because their social, emotional and intellectual needs are understood and met by caring staff. Older children arrive eager to learn and take part, and they confidently choose what to do after a short introduction of the options available. An emphasis on helping the children to feel settled and secure means that children are confident and happy.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Babies and toddlers are secure and content, because staff interact with them with warmth and kindness. They sing to young children during nappy changing, and chat and make eye contact while holding children closely for a change of clothes. Children enjoy a range of interesting activities, using natural and man-made resources and media such as ice, pots and pans, and pine cones. Planning for babies and toddlers' activities is based appropriately on the Birth to three matters framework: good use is made of this framework to ensure that activities cover all aspects of young children's development, they are based on children's interests, and meet their individual needs. For example, a child who was interested in a picture of a spider is taken

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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 on a bug hunt, and another who showed interest in a toy teapot benefits from a planned water activity with a tea set.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

A few children attend the setting before and after school. Staff meet their needs well: children relax and choose activities, and are offered healthy food.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children are happy and enjoy their time at the nursery, are keen to learn, and spend their time purposefully engaged in meaningful activities. Staff understand how children learn. For example, they provide a stimulating environment, where children can explore and investigate and learn at their own pace, choosing from creative activities such as painting and role play. A good balance of adult directed and child initiated activities means that children can make choices, learn new skills with support, or develop their own play experiences. For example, they can hammer wheels onto wooden cars with support, and invent holiday stories in the pretend travel agent's. Skilful questioning by staff enables children to think, reason, remember and explore ideas. They eagerly and excitedly discuss and recall the pumpkin seeds which grew stems, leaves and flowers. Children are given opportunities

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

to practice and consolidate skills and learning, such as moulding clay for different purposes. They are given time to persevere and concentrate, and so gain satisfaction from the results, such as accurately drawing around a tractor stencil. Staff recognize that children learn when they are interested, and take their lead from the children, for example, a child who showed interest in technology was taken to another room to use a computer. Staffs' knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage is good, so children benefit from well planned play experiences provided and supervised by staff who have a good understanding of the learning activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

As a result of good teaching, children are making good progress towards the early learning goals from their various individual starting points. Children are developing personal and social skills, for example, when they serve their own food at meal times. They are given opportunities to concentrate and persevere, such as when they carefully paint a car they have made. Children are taking pride in their achievements, for example, a child shouted 'I did it!' when he succeeded in accurately pinning his wheels to his car. They show sympathy and understanding for the needs of others, such as by providing a chair for a friend who was struggling to remove her trousers, or helping a child who was trying unsuccessfully to hammer a wheel onto his car. Social skills are promoted well at mealtimes, taking turns to serve themselves food, and engaging in conversation.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Language and communication skills are developing. The provision of a welcoming book area, with soft seating, and staff who are quick to cuddle up with a child to read a story means that children are learning that print has meaning, and are beginning to have their favourite stories and to take care of books. They are learning pre-writing skills when they make marks in sand, or squiggles on paper in the travel agent to represent tickets. They recognize their names at snack times.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have regular and frequent access to the outside play area, so have good opportunities to develop their physical skills, for example, from access to challenging equipment such as

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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 'bucket stilts'. Small motor skills are developing with practice using tools such as hammers, or threading beads.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are learning about numbers and shapes when staff make the most of opportunities to discuss these. For example, children successfully identify basic shapes such as squares and circles. They are starting to count spontaneously: for example, making a car, 'I've got one two three four wheels'.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children use their creativity and imagination when provided with well resourced role play areas and activities. For example, they excitedly discuss what happens on a plane trip in the pretend travel agent's office. Staff appropriately support and extend role play, so children enjoy and learn from imaginative play.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children's knowledge and understanding of the world around them is well promoted, for example, they displayed a sense of wonder when remembering activities following the life cycle of a pumpkin plant through from seed to a decoration for Halloween. Opportunities to use the school's Information Communication and Technology suite means that children are becoming familiar with using computers.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Equality of opportunity is well promoted within the nursery, where staff have high expectations of all children, and help all to achieve and learn. Planning of activities is led by staffs' knowledge of children's individual needs and interests, and adult directed activities are planned so that children of different ages and abilities can join in and achieve at different levels. Children are learning about diversity in society through planned experiences linked to a current theme, and special events. For example, they have been thinking about other children's needs during 'Children in need' week, making biscuits to sell. Regular local outings, for example, to post letters, help children to learn about their own community.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

A trained member of staff is in place to work with children with learning difficulties and disabilities. Children benefit, because she works closely with other professionals, for example, a speech and language therapist and health visitors. Children who need help with language and communication skills benefit from regular visits from the therapist, who guides the staff to help them work with these children effectively. Children who speak English as an additional language make steady progress, because, for example, staff learn words in their own language.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children are generally well behaved and are engrossed in their play. Staff effectively model good behaviour, and are calm and polite. Older children are beginning to understand what is expected of them, and where the boundaries lie, because staff have high expectations, they discuss desirable behaviour, and the effect of poor behaviour on others. Rewards such as stickers make the children proud of themselves, and help them learn right from wrong.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents is good. Parents enter the nursery confidently and chat with staff. Frequent meetings take place providing opportunities for parents to discuss their child’s progress and for them to be informed about their next steps for development. Parents have direct access

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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 to their children's keyworker assessment files, which gives them regular opportunities to contribute to their child’s learning, and helps them become conversant with the areas of learning and the early learning goals. As a result, parents feel well informed about their children's developmental progress. Good quality information is displayed for parents about the provision, for example, parents check the food their child has eaten, contact books are kept for babies, and policies and procedures are accessible. However, some parents do not feel well informed about their children's daily activities, although these are displayed, and they are not encouraged to continue activities and children's learning at home. A parents' forum is used successfully to actively seek parents views on the nursery provision.

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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 good. All aspects of the nursery provision are well organised, so children benefit from being cared for by staff who are clear of their roles and responsibilities. They work well as a team, noticing, for example, if a colleague needs to be replaced supporting an activity, in order to care for a child who has had an accident. They communicate effectively through informal discussion and formal meetings to ensure the setting is well organised. For example, senior management meetings are held to discuss relevant issues such as students interaction with children, and other safety and practice issues. Staff use their time very effectively to support children within their play.

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Organisation

The required documentation is kept thoroughly and accurately. For example, the record of staffs' and children's attendance clearly shows who is on the premises. Children's personal records are clear, enabling staff to contact parents quickly if necessary.

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Organisation

The quality of leadership and management is good, resulting in the children making steady good progress towards the early learning goals, taking into account their various starting points. The Nursery Education programme is well planned, evaluated and monitored, ensuring all aspects of the curriculum are included and given equal weight. Children's assessments are used effectively to guide planning: observations of children's activities and interests are used to identify their next steps, and suitable activities are planned accordingly to meet individual needs.

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Organisation

Management recognise the strengths within the provision and are aware of the areas where practice could be developed, such as carrying out observations on the staff. Management works with staff to continually assess, monitor and evaluate all aspects of the setting A self evaluation file has become a useful and effective working document used by management and staff to promote good outcomes for children.

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Organisation

The nursery meets the needs of the children for whom it provides care and education.

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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 it was agreed that the setting would improve the information given to parents by making available the complaints procedure and the child protection procedure, and by informing them of the children's activities. Parents are now informed of these procedures, but are still not sure of the activities provided for children, although these are displayed. Therefore this remains a recommendation. It was agreed that parents would sign to acknowledge they were aware of medication given; children are now generally kept safe in this respect. Lastly, it was agreed that the organisation of the setting be improved by introducing a system of staff appraisals. Staffs' achievements and training needs are now identified in this way.

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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 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 the temperature of the fridge where the babies' food is stored is appropriate and consistent.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • ensure that parents are informed of their children' activities, and that they have opportunities to continue some play and learning activities at home (this recommendation also applies to childcare) • develop formal systems for assessing and recording children's individual starting points as they enter the nursery (this recommendation also applies to childcare).

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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 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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