Trinity Catholic High School

St Day & Carharrack Pre-School

Inspection report for early years provision

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St Day & Carharrack Pre-School

102860 Unique Reference Number 04 October 2006 Inspection date Heather Tanswell Inspector

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St Day & Carharrack Pre-School

St Day & Carharrack Community School, School Hill,St Day, Redruth, Cornwall, TR16 5LG

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E-mail

St Day & Carharrack Pre School 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 inadequate - notice of action to improve. The registered person does not meet the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Sunny Days Nursery, part of Teyluva Children's Centre, is a committee run group. It operates from one classroom and a purpose built nursery in St Day and Carharrack Community School, near Redruth in Cornwall. A maximum of 35 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 08:00 until 18:00 for 50 weeks of the year. All children share access to a secure enclosed play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 46 children from six months to four years on roll. Of these, 19 children receive funding for nursery education. Children come from a wide catchment area. The setting currently supports a number of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery employs eight staff. Over half the staff members have early year’s qualifications to NVQ Level 2 or 3. Two staff are currently working towards a qualification. The setting receives

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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 support from an advisory teacher from the Children's Centre and the Local Authority Family Services, and, the Pre-school Learning Alliance (PLA).

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is inadequate. Procedures to ensure children are protected from cross infection are ineffective. Standards of hygiene in some parts of the setting are satisfactory but in others, they are poor. Staff follow procedures to ensure the resources, kitchen and nappy changing areas are clean and hygienic. The toilets in the pre-school room are soiled. Nursery staff do nothing to clean them before children arrive. During the day, toilets throughout the setting are not checked sufficiently often to maintain appropriate standards of hygiene. Soiled and wet toilet seats and pans are not wiped between uses, made clean and ready for the next child. Soap is not within children's reach, which means they cannot wash their hands thoroughly after going to the toilet. Tea towels used by children to dry their dishes hang trailing on the floor by the entrance door. Staff and visitors do not remove their shoes when entering carpeted areas used by babies who spend

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Helping children to be healthy

most of their time playing on the floor. The sand pit in the nursery garden is not covered to keep it clean and therefore, it is littered with debris from surrounding vegetation. These poor hygiene practices place children's health is at risk through cross infection.

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Helping children to be healthy

In the pre-school, children benefit from café style healthy snacks throughout the morning along with drinks of fresh water or milk following the settings healthy eating policy. For example, children choose from a varied and healthy selection of fresh fruits, including apple, pear, orange and blackberries accompanied by rice cakes and cereals. Parents provide their children with packed lunches, which they sort, and label before placing perishable foods in the refrigerator to keep them fresh. However, staff do not make sure all foods are stored safely or work effectively with parents to promote healthy eating habits. As a result, children often finish their lunch with chocolate and crisps, which are not beneficial. In the nursery, parents provide all children’s food, and water is offered when drinks from home run out at meal times. When parents forget to provide a snack staff carefully check if the child has any allergies before

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Helping children to be healthy

offering a portion of fruit. They take note that the child has eaten nothing but offer no alternative to ensure the child is not hungry. Babies are held closely when offered their bottle feeds, which helps promote their emotional well-being and growth. Poor organisation and supervision of meal times in the nursery means that children are left waiting too long for their lunch while others eat in front of them. As a result, they swap food and drink then hand back what is left for the other child to finish without anyone noticing. Children eat food picked up from the floor. Staff do not sit with children or create family groupings, which encourages children's independence, good eating habits and suitable management of mealtimes to meet the needs of the children.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children of all ages benefit from regular exercise out in the fresh air, which helps promote their stamina and physical skills. Older children pedal bikes, run about and occasionally take part in dance and movement sessions in the school hall. Children go on walks about the school field. Nursery children pull themselves up on chairs in preparation for walking and when assisted by staff they begin to toddle. Baby walking aids are not used indoors to encourage children's

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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 independence and competence. Children handle tools such a rollers, knives, cutters and brushes with confidence. Pre-school children can chop up segments of fruit for themselves and make recognisable shapes of fruit and vegetables as they manipulate salt-dough.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Premises are welcoming to children and decorated with colourful posters and photographs of children at play. Useful information such as notices, planning, policies and procedures are readily accessible. Staff keep the indoor premises secure by locking doors and monitoring access to protect children. Parts of the outside play area are fenced but when children play outside, doors left open or unlocked. However, staff have put into place some temporary measures to minimise the risk to children until appropriate fencing is installed. Emergency evacuations carried out routinely and fully recorded in all areas of the setting make sure staff and children know what to do in the event of a fire. In the nursery building, these procedures require updating, now the number of babies on roll has increased. Children's safety is promoted through the daily use of socket covers and regular checks on sleeping babies.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children have access to a wide range of good quality age appropriate toys to support their play and learning. Staff carry out routine checks and implement the cleaning rota to make sure all the toys are in good condition and hygienic. In the nursery, there are insufficient correctly sized tables and chairs to meet the needs of all the children and staff, especially at meal times. As a result, only one member of staff can sit in comfort at any one time to feed a baby. When children eat together, some cannot get their knees under the table, others sit at tables so high above them they cannot see their food and there is no room for staff to sit with them.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

All new staff receive training in child protection policies and procedures at induction. They are confident they can recognise signs of abuse and know how to respond if they have any concerns by reporting to the named person responsible for liaison with child protection agencies. However, the correct procedure is not always followed. Allegations are investigated to assure children's well-being but not reported correctly to the appropriate agencies.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children arrive happy to be at the nursery. They settle in quickly, show interest in the planned activities and use the readily available resources in their own time. Children experience a varied range of activities that contribute to their sound development. Daily routines in place throughout the nursery ensure children of all ages have free playtime and exploration both inside and out. Younger children play outside in the tunnel, tent and ball pool while older children ride bikes, paint and use construction kits to build models. Children know the daily routines well and take part in large group activities and tidy up time. However, very young children sometimes lack close attention, stimulation, and comfort from adults because they are quiet and staff are busy carrying out daily routines.

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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 Children' independence and inclusion is promoted through a balance of adult led and child initiated activities. Staff organise activities to support a topic that threads right through each session in the pre-school room. For example, to support the harvest theme, children could make salt dough fruit, vegetables, and loaves. They also make paint made from soft fruits gathered in the countryside, and discuss how the cereals they have at snack are produced.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Children are happy at the setting and confident to work independently or in groups. Children playing on their own receive encouragement to join in with others to complete games that require more than one player. Children respond appropriately to adult expectation and join in with tidying up as soon as staff sing 'tidy up, tidy up'. Children are beginning to accept responsibility for their own actions because staff take great care to explain and model ways of managing minor disputes. For example, when one child takes a book being read by another and refuses to give it back the practitioner explains why the book is important to the other child. As a result, children play well together and grow in awareness of others needs.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children show interest in a range of purposeful, first hand activities and experiences. They are beginning to recognise the initial phonic sounds in their names. They handle books for enjoyment and reference using them with respect most of the time. Children are beginning to use language and offer their own ideas to describe what they see and do. For example, a child explains that a character in a book has gone to the 'van library' shortly after she gets back from choosing the book from the mobile library. Children do not routinely write for a purpose, as they are not invited by staff to scribe or make marks during daily routines such as registration or by labelling their own work. Children use numbers to count from one to six. They are beginning to understand the two ness of two as staff use objects to represent numbers, for example, apples and fingers at number rhymes. However, children do not compare groups of numbers in daily routines so

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

they can begin to understand the purpose of addition and subtraction and consolidate their use of simple mathematical language.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children handle a range of natural materials and learn how plants and animals grow and develop. They learn about the local environment and natural world as they go out on occasional walks into the school field. Children begin to appreciate the passage of time as staff talk to them about what they did yesterday and would like to do today. They use simple technology such as weighing scales in role-play but do not routinely use the computer because it is not always turned on prepared ready for them. Children enjoy playing on bikes out in the fresh air. They pedal and push, manoeuvring safely about other toys and children. Children refine their physical skills as they use a range of tools to manipulate materials such as dough and paint using tools such as knives, cutters, rolling pins and brushes. However, they do not regularly climb, scramble, slide, and crawl over under and through to develop their physical skills, as staff do not make

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

good use of the available equipment. Children have access to a wide range of creative and sensory resources which they explore using all of their senses. Staff make imaginative use of natural materials making berries into a paint medium. Children enact adult led scenarios and then make up their own based on home-life experiences. They take a particular interest in looking after the pets in the well set up role-play 'Pet Centre' by taking their blood pressure and giving doses of medicine.

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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 Staff have a developing knowledge of the Curriculum guidance for the Foundation Stage and show a sound understanding of how children learn through play at well-planned activities suited to their interest. Teaching is appropriate for all groups of children. Practitioners understand children's needs and provide a range of activities and experiences. The level of challenge in most areas of the curriculum is sufficient to interest children but some activities and routines do not extend children's learning sufficiently well, for example in mathematics and physical development. Assessments and the information gained from them influence plans for future activities. Children's achievement are sometimes inconsistent as less experienced staff lack knowledge and understanding of how to help children make good progress. Some staff lack

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

understanding of the early learning goals, experience and involvement in the planning process. Relationships are secure at all levels. All staff have a generally high expectation of children's behaviour, which is reflected positively in the manner of the children and their positive attitude to learning.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children learn to respect the needs and feelings of others through planned activities about their own and other cultures. They take part in village feast days and use these experiences to create a library book as a colourful record of events illustrated with children's drawings and photographs. They learn about cultural festivals from the wider community throughout the year. Staff decorate some areas of the nursery walls with posters that show positive images of children from other cultures, which helps families, feel valued and respected.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children are well behaved and co-operative. They know what is expected of them because staff act as good role models. Staff encourage children with warmth and praise for sharing, their participation and help as they sing and tidy up together. As a result, children develop self-esteem and confidence. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers is satisfactory. Parents receive a well-written introduction to the nursery and a home visit. The home visit ensures parents share important details about their child's specific care needs, disabilities and interests with senior staff so that staff can plan to adapt activities for children with learning disabilities. Other information, for example, about children's interests, is not always with shared with key workers. Parents receive advance notice about what activities their children will be taking part in. Plans are on display and regular newsletters and library books support complementary home learning. Samples of children's work and records of progress go home so that children can share the work they have done with pride. Key workers ensure parents receive verbal feedback about important aspects of their child's day such as activities, sleep, food and toileting. Parents ask if they require a meeting

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Helping children make a positive contribution

with staff to discuss each child's progress in confidence. They report they receive a friendly welcome and encouragement to stay and settle their child and that their children are eager to attend.

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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

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Organisation

The organisation is inadequate. A team of suitably qualified staff, who attend regular training and team meetings to update their knowledge and skills, provide care for children. New staff receive induction training that includes health and safety policies and procedures. Following training, managers and staff are developing materials using the Birth to Three Matters Framework to plan experiences for children under three-years-old. Staff ratio to children more than meets requirements. However, the organisation of meal times is chaotic due to ineffective forward planning and a lack of suitable furniture. Hygiene procedures are often ineffective. As a result, children's health is at risk from cross infection.

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Organisation

Most of the necessary documentation that contributes to children’s health and safety is in place. Policies to ensure staff are suitable at recruitment and ongoing are not rigorous. Although children are kept safe from harm, regulations are not always met. For example, Ofsted is not informed about allegations that question the suitability of staff to work with children. Senior staff and the registered person do not follow fully the correct procedures as described in the booklet 'What To Do If You're Worried A Child Is Being Abused' when an allegation is made. The complaints log does not include all the required information to ensure Ofsted and parents are fully informed. The setting does not meet the needs of the range of the children for whom it provides.

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Organisation

Leadership and management of nursery education is satisfactory. The registered person relies on visits from Children Centre staff and Family Services to monitor standards of care and education. Senior staff are beginning to develop a team approach to planning activities with support from a qualified teacher who offers help and advice. There is a formal system of appraisals used to identify training needs of staff. Staff meet regularly to plan experiences for children across the curriculum based on their observations of children at play and the interests they display in the types of activities provided for them. Children are happy in the well-organised pre-school environment. Space is laid out to promote free-play opportunities for children and works well to support children's independence and learning.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection, the provider agreed to ensure that information for parents relating to the operational policies and procedures of the group is easily available and accessible. Also, that the child protection procedure for the playgroup complies with local Area Child Protection Committee (ACPC) procedures and is based on the procedures laid out in the Government booklet "What To Do If You're Worried A Child Is Being Abused – Summary", and to develop staff's knowledge and understanding of child protection issues.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The provider now makes all policies and procedures readily accessible to parents by displaying them in the entrance foyer, which ensures they are fully informed about how the setting is managed. The child protection procedure has been updated to have regard for guidance documents but senior staff are still not familiar with how to deal with reporting child protection concerns appropriately.

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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. 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 inadequate - notice of action to improve. The registered person does not meet the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care, the registered person must take the following actions: • protect children's health by improving hygiene practices throughout the setting and making sure children do not share food and drink inappropriately • improve knowledge and understanding of the requirements set out in regulations and set in place a procedure to notify Ofsted of relevant matters These actions are set out in a notice of action to improve and must be completed by the date specified in the notice.

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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): • provide regular and frequent physical activity indoors and outdoors so that children can enjoy the freedom of large-scale movement such as climbing and balancing on large apparatus to improve their co-ordination and control • make more effective use of planned activities, daily routines, resources and the environment so that children learn about using numbers, writing and technology in practical contexts

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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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